Kicking the week off on Sunday, I took in Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen's latest film. I had no idea what to expect going into the movie, except that it had an all-star cast, including Andrew Dice Clay, resurrected from the late 20th century. It had the somber melancholia of Allen's more narrative works such as Match Point as opposed to the quirky philosophical banter of Midnight in Paris or Annie Hall.
The film features Jasmine, a fascinating female character played by Cate Blanchett, who falls from the height of Wall Street royalty to the depths of mental illness and poverty. Watching her cling to the vestiges of her old life is painful, but will infect viewers with the voyeurism of highway drivers slowing down to get a better view of a fatal car crash.
If Blanchett does not get an Oscar nomination for her work on this one, I will be shocked. The rest of the cast certainly does Alec Baldwin delivers his best sleazy white collar criminal. Sally Hawkins plays Jasmine's foil as her pure hearted sister Ginger. Bobby Cannavale is the lovable blue-collar boyfriend who does his best to fight the immediate antagonism Jasmine clearly has for him.
Woody Allen says his secret is "picking the right actors and getting out of the way." He allegedly spends less than a few minutes with his leads, prior to production, explaining what he wants. The performances in this film just prove what magic can happen when actors are at the top of their games.
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