Blanchett Steals the Show
I still am not sure how I feel about Woody Allen as a filmmaker. As I am watching his movies, I find myself routinely impressed, but upon further review a day or so later, I find myself questioning what in the heck made the movie so impressive in the first place. Blue Jasmine fits the same mold. This is a good movie highlighted by a Golden Globe-winning performance from Cate Blanchett. Yet, as I sit here a day later to recollect and replay the movie in my mind, I am less moved than I was the day before. Maybe my talking about it here will help clear things up.
As I mentioned, Blanchett killed it, which is nice because this is the only movie I can think of where I have seen her in a leading role. It must be lovely for Australian and English actors to be cast as a posh, New York socialite, and Blanchett certainly sold her performance in this one. I also give major props to Sally Hawkins, Louis C.K. (who knew?) and Bobby Cannavale for developing a compelling side plot to compliment Blanchett's standout performance. Here's the part where I applaud Allen: two cinematic elements of this movie that really stood out to me were transitions long, uninterrupted segments of dialogue. Both these aspects of the film, which Allen is known for, help to tie everything together in a way that is both beautiful and logical.
Here's the part where I, um, dis Allen? What really didn't help was the music selection, which for me is one of the most important aspects of film today. The French blues motif that Allen was going for really didn't fit the bill in my opinion and if anything was distracting my attention away from the film many shifting developments. Also, and again I can't quite put my finger on it, I struggle to take Alec Baldwin seriously (and no, not because of Team America). It just felt as though he was trying too hard, as per usual. And to bring things back to my original point, I reflect back to yesterday when I sat down to watch this movie. Is a good movie? Definitely. Will I ever watch it again? Doubt it. There's really nothing about this movie that completely enthralls me as a viewer. Definitely hold off on seeing this one until you can stash it on your Netflix Instant Queue.
Written January 15, 2014
As I mentioned, Blanchett killed it, which is nice because this is the only movie I can think of where I have seen her in a leading role. It must be lovely for Australian and English actors to be cast as a posh, New York socialite, and Blanchett certainly sold her performance in this one. I also give major props to Sally Hawkins, Louis C.K. (who knew?) and Bobby Cannavale for developing a compelling side plot to compliment Blanchett's standout performance. Here's the part where I applaud Allen: two cinematic elements of this movie that really stood out to me were transitions long, uninterrupted segments of dialogue. Both these aspects of the film, which Allen is known for, help to tie everything together in a way that is both beautiful and logical.
Here's the part where I, um, dis Allen? What really didn't help was the music selection, which for me is one of the most important aspects of film today. The French blues motif that Allen was going for really didn't fit the bill in my opinion and if anything was distracting my attention away from the film many shifting developments. Also, and again I can't quite put my finger on it, I struggle to take Alec Baldwin seriously (and no, not because of Team America). It just felt as though he was trying too hard, as per usual. And to bring things back to my original point, I reflect back to yesterday when I sat down to watch this movie. Is a good movie? Definitely. Will I ever watch it again? Doubt it. There's really nothing about this movie that completely enthralls me as a viewer. Definitely hold off on seeing this one until you can stash it on your Netflix Instant Queue.
Written January 15, 2014