Blue Jasmine (2013)

Directed by Woody Allen · Comedy, Drama

Starring Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Peter Sarsgaard, Andrew Dice Clay, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alden Ehrenreich, Charlie Tahan, Max Casella, Tammy Blanchard, Martin Cantu, Daniel Jenks, Max Rutherford, Ali Fedotowsky, Joe Bellan

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Jasmine French used to be on the top of the heap as a New York socialite, but now is returning to her estranged sister in San Francisco utterly ruined. As Jasmine struggles with her haunting memories of a privileged past bearing dark realities she ignored, she tries to recover in her present. Unfortunately, it all proves a losing battle as Jasmine's narcissistic hangups and their consequences begin to overwhelm her. In doing so, her old pretensions and new deceits begin to foul up everyone's lives, especially her own.

My review · Reviewed 01/10/2014

This film was odd in that it had some of the trappings of a Woody Allen film (the music, the moral questions, etc) but it certainly didn't feel like a Woody Allen film. To be honest, I didn't love it. It kept my attention the whole way but in retrospect that probably had more to do with Cate Blanchett's unbelievable performance in the lead role. I would have liked to have seen the film be a pure drama instead of the dramedy that it became. This gets a 7 on the strength of Blanchett's performance.