Blue Jasmine

An Original or Remake?

Director: Woody Allen
Release Date: 2013
Rating: 15
Running Time: 90 mins
Genre: Romance/Comedy/Drama
Actors: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard

Woody Allen delivers an interesting film with his new rom com 'Blue Jasmine'. Having seen that the film had earned a few oscar nominations, I was interested to check it out, though normally this film is not one I would usually go for I did end up enjoying it. However although the film managed to entertain me, I did feel it lacked a certain originality as I did feel it felt too closely linked to Tennesse Williams' 'A Streetcar Named Desire' from the 50's. In the film, like with 'Street Car', there are two sisters though very different people, one marries into wealth and the other marries into a much more simple and hard up life, though who's to say who's happier. We join Cate Blanchett on a plane to go and stay with her sister, claiming to be broke and in need of refuge. Whether or not 'Blue Jasmine' is or isn't Woody Allen's way of modernising William's play, there's no deny it is basically a remake. Cate Blanchett's character is so close to the character of Blanche in 'Street Car' that the first thing that both characters do when they arrive is have a drink of alcohol and as the plot develops we begin to realise that bother characters have a drinking problem and there are other similarities shown placing the stories so close together, the ending can almost be anticipated. 

I did feel however having said this, Woody Allen delivered this film in a very interesting order, whereby the events were not shown entirely in order and made room for some big reveals along the way. In this way I found that to be effective, due to the way that it was able to grab me and keep me interested in what was going on as, even though it could be arguably a 'rip off', I did find the film to be very entertaining.

The acting in the film was one of it's strongest traits. Cate Blanchett's performance was enjoyable to watch and she really stole the film with her acting. It always amazes me how dedicated to a role Cate Blanchett actually is, and how her performances always manage to so memorable and diverse. This can be said particularly when thinking about films such as Martin Scorsese's 'The Aviator' where she played Katherine Hepburn, a Galadriel in 'The Lord of The Rings', a role she is normally remembered by. Hopefully due to her role in 'Blue Jasmine' and the Oscar nomination she's earned, she may grow more renowned for her other roles that she's played and people can see what a talent she is.

To sum up 'Blue Jasmine', it's probably fair to say that if you have seen 'A Streetcar Named Desire' you won't be missing anything not seeing this. However, it is an enjoyable and surprisingly complex film, but equally one you can sit down and relax watching rather than focussing hard on.

6/10