Review of Blue Jasmine (2013) by Prodigy2013 — 17 Jan 2014

There's no stopping Woody Allen, At 78 years old he's still making fresh films (on many occasions), that never fail to entertain as well as challenge. His latest picture, 'Blue Jasmine' is just that. Its a striking character study about a wealthy New York socialite named Jasmine, who is forced to move in with her working-class sister, Ginger; when her marriage with a wealthy business man falls apart after he's indicted.

Spearheading the delightful cast which includes Sally Hawkins, Louis C.K. and Andrew Dice-Clay; was Cate Blanchett. She gives tour de force performance as the titular character, one of her best! The character's vapid, snobbish behavior, mental fragility and pure malevolence, was excellently conceived by Blanchett; both on a comedic and dramatic level.

But as I've said many times, a great performance sometimes isn't possible without a well written screenplay. And gosh, does that apply here; Allen screenplay is a fine piece of work. His back and forth narrative structure which juxtaposes Jasmine's high life in New York with her dissatisfaction in the earthly home of her sister, was a brilliant approach to telling the story.

Not only does it allow for neat characterizations; but it was also good way of bleeding the plot, which does take unexpected turns. 'Blue Jasmine' was a splendid study of class and morality, headlined by great performances from the cast.