THE SORRY TALE OF "BLUE JASMINE"

There were a lot of things, and I do mean a LOT of things that recommended this film to me. I’m a massive fan of Woody Allen. I’m a massive fan of Kate Blanchette. Blue Jasmine was on Quentin Tarantino’s list of faves for 2013 (oh come on, you know I’m a fangirl. Yes you do). So, yeah. When it came as an option on the in-flight entertainment to Japan, I couldn’t really say no, could I?

Now, honestly, at first glance I failed to see how anyone could dislike this film in any way shape of form. But then, I asked my Mom what she thought of it and she said that the character Jasmine annoyed her so much she couldn’t get more than half way through the film and just turned it off. I strongly disapprove of this kind of thing but it forced me to try and think of the whole affair a tad more objectively and I had to admit I can see where she was coming from even though I don’t agree. At the end of the day Woody Allen’s work is rather a niche affair which you generally either love or hate and this film is virtually marinated in his style - which is good news for any of the fans. Coupled with some rather superb acting from Cate Blanchette – I had been saying she would be up for the Oscar® right from the start – the result is a film that is particularly easy on the eye.

Jasmine (Cate Blanchette) is going through a bit of a tough patch. There was a time not so long ago she could have claimed to have it all. A husband rich enough to fund all her shopping trips and brunches, a like-minded set of socialite friends in New York, a massive, luxurious house and no reason whatsoever to work. However all good things must come to an end and Jasmine’s dream life crumbles down around her ears one day (I’ll let you discover the how and why of it in the film) and she is faced with the rather terrifying prospect of going out into the real world, standing on her own two feet  and earning her daily bread. This is how Jasmine lands on the doorstep of her estranged sister Ginger in San Francisco. Ginger’s life is a million miles away from Jasmine’s and old resentments and feuds boil beneath the genial surface but family is family and Jasmine literally has nowhere else to go. So starts a very uneasy partnership between the two sisters… Here’s hoping Jasmine adapts to real life quickly. Like, before she pushes Ginger to do something they would both regret…

Now, you know the type of comedy where an  alien (or two) from a very advanced technological era come to earth and flail around trying to adapt to the “backwards” fittings and fixtures? Yeah, this is basically the same type of comedy. And I must admit, I’m kind of surprised I like it so much because I never liked that kind of comedy. Even when Star Trek did it. I can totally see why people might get annoyed with the storyline too incidentally. Because the “backwards fixtures and fittings” in the film are basically… Yeah you got it. Our lives. Day to day, normal lives. Ok so Ginger works in a supermarket bagging groceries – just to underline the contrast with Jasmine’s high flier New York lifestyle- but basically she is a million miles away from Mimozas and brunch every Saturday, pretty much like the rest of us. The film is a comedy about how hard it would be for the rich to adapt to our lives. And believe me, it makes for an annoying watch through and through.

But it does raise some rather important points as well. Not least about the way the star culture and society fills us with all the wrong aspirations about the importance of glamour and material things as opposed to the stuff in life that really and truly matters. Jasmine is, in reality, almost completely unqualified. She never finished college and she never worked. So any job she is actually qualified to get is something not unlike her sisters but of course she sneers at that. Any job she can get she doesn’t last in; it’s all “far too menial” she needs to “use her talents”, ah but what are these talents if she has any at all?  Jasmine has clearly not. She is just sure she has them and she must do “great things”. So what the film is, in reality, doing through Jasmine is reminding us gently that the quest for our own “perfect lives” should really begin from a quest within ourselves. We must know ourselves and fully understand what is really important in life. If we need to develop to get to the point we wish to be at in life, we must accept that with good grace and serenity. And above all we must invest into all those things in life that money cannot buy: Love, friendship, family…

Now all these are valid lessons but of course they are given through the means of an incredibly annoying snob (and her annoyingness is a testimony to Blanchette’s acting prowess if you think about it) constantly berating a life very similar to your own. So it takes an effort to get passed that bit and look to the more spiritual lesson of the film. It is a fable; it is a “don’t be like her” cautionary tale for both the rich and the poor – if you see what I mean. And once you have put enough distance between yourself and the film and have begun to truly appreciate stuff like what a brilliant job Blanchette is doing with the part, I am confident you will enjoy it as much as I did.