blue jasmine

Karen, Moira+I went along to the Watershed yesterday afternoon to see Woody Allen’s latest film, Blue Jasmine. It’s a story of a former New York socialite (played by Cate Blanchett) whose high-flying life comes crashing down when her husband (Alec Baldwin) loses everything in a government liquidation of their vast fortune. Cate Blanchett’s portrayal as a woman-on-the-edge is stunning (surely Oscar-winning?) – unrelenting, emotional and desperate… managing to portray both the supremely beautiful and the broken, ravaged woman within the same film with apparent, uncomfortable  ease. The other actors give powerful performances too… especially Sally Hawkins (of “Happy-Go-Lucky” and “Made in Dagenham” fame), who plays Blanchett’s down-at-heel sister.

If I’m honest, I was slightly disappointed by the film. Although it was a typical melancholic Allen movie, I would have been grateful for a few more moments of humour and a little less abrasiveness (but that’s probably just me!). Having said that, there’s no doubt that it’s an impressive, powerful film with some huge individual performances… and definitely worth seeing.