I am more of a fan of Woody Allen in theory than in practice. There is much to love about his quirky, neurotic persona, fast wit, and energy, but outside of Annie Hall and Crimes and Misdemeanors, my reactions to his films range from apathetic to irritated. Blue Jasmine falls somewhere in the area before apathetic. As played by Cate Blanchett, Jasmine is a middle aged divorcee, whose rich stockbroker husband is sitting in federal prison for all sorts of financial crimes. Trying to get back on her feet after a mental breakdown, she moves in with her working class sister and her kids in a tiny San Francisco apartment and takes a job as a receptionist at a dentist's office. Through flashbacks we are told how her life with her ex-husband fell apart, and learn of her longing for stability, both emotional and financial. One thing is for certain, in the era of the Great Recession and its aftermath, there is very little appeal in a movie which ultimately revels in the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Maybe Woody poked fun at them back in the seventies, but now it is hard not to feel like he has become a parody of himself as he seeks to somehow make the old formula fresh again. When in doubt he falls back on stereotypes, especially in his depiction of the film's working class characters, who are all either violent, cheating bums, or both. Not that the rich and fabulous fare much better, but the satire lacks a sting, it is not even really that funny. But what works, works. Woody does what he does well, and his way with dialogue, and his handling of his actors remains as adept as ever, and never for a moment do we not believe that Cate Blanchett is not Jasmine. Ultimately, what is lacking here is a bite, some energy, it just feels dead inside, there is no soul, and very little emotion. What Blue Jasmine really is is a swan song for the ghosts of middle class, Bush/Obama-era America. But who cares?
Comments
Post a Comment