Blue Jasmine (2013)

Directed by: Woody Allen
Country: USA

Review: Woody Allen did great in “Blue Jasmine”, after the last year’s fiasco “To Rome With Love”. The script didn’t show anything groundbreaking, but Allen was able to reinvent himself by giving it the proper touches to triumph, both as drama and comedy. Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) is a high-society New Yorker who is passing through a nervous breakdown and serious financial crisis after her cheating husband, Hal (Alec Baldwin), has been condemned for fraud. In a desperate attempt to recover, she moves into her sister’s small apartment in San Francisco where everything seems too modest and too imperfect for her aspirations. While Jasmine’s sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins), revealed to be understanding and supportive in every way, Jasmine was completely lost in thoughts from the past, which stubbornly persisted in her unconscious. The performances were close to perfection and none of the characters were there by chance or mistake. Their constant changing moods bestowed such agitation, which at no time allowed the story to slip into monotony. At the sound of a swinging jazz, a staple in his films, Allen offers a genuine character study, showing that there are people who aren’t capable of changing, even when they find themselves in the worst situations. By creating a consistent and funny portrait that confronts insane ambition with cheerful modesty, Allen made of “Blue Jasmine” his best work since “Match Point”.