Blue Jasmine = A Streetcar Named Desire

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 6:39pm

A friend of mine just saw Blue Jasmine and was pretty angry that it was such a direct steal of "Streetcar."

He also said that Cate Blanchett as Blanche, I mean Jasmine, will probably win the Oscar for it.

EDIT: i should have added ... how do the rest of you feel who have seen it?
Blue Jasmine

Updated On: 8/18/13 at 06:39 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 6:41pm

Yeah, I saw it last week and made that comparison about 15 minutes into it. I thought Blanchett was fantastic and the movie itself was very good but there was just "something" about it that struck me as false.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 6:52pm

It seems like a lot of Woody's recent films have been homages to past writers and directors.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 7:12pm

There was definitely something missing from it. I thought it was very well-acted and Blanchett deserves all of the good notices. What's wrong with playing homage (if that's stealing then what is Stardust Memories to Fellini's 8 1/2?) to Streetcar anyway? Especially when you have an actress who you know can play a Blanche.

The cinematography and camera choices were not my favorite and I tend to like Woody when he makes the aesthetics out of his comfort zone. A lot of shots of characters in conversation without reverse shot- like a film student directing their first movie after just discovering Godard's Breathless for the first time- which made for some unconventional framing of those conversations on camera.

Was anybody at a theater where there seemed to be people who mistook it for a more conventional Woody Allen comedy and were laughing at parts that felt a little more serious? I know people who have lived among people with mental illness and this movie actually made them a wreck. Even as I was struck by Blanchett's performance I wondered if the audience around me just thought Allen was going for laughs on mental illness when I felt like he was definitely aware of the complicated nature of the character and material.

SPOILER:










I did expect Jasmine to be the reason for her husband getting caught pretty early on. I had no problem with that. I just thought her son's reaction to finding that out to be completely devoid of complication or complicated feelings. The structure of the movie through Jasmine's perspective did not serve that character well, and I like Alden Ehrenreich a lot. I have a hard time believing he wound up in Oakland, of all places. I think even as a Harvard drop-out he would've, even if he was miserable and turning to drugs, probably having a job that was still very white collar as opposed to some music store 3,000 miles away. Maybe it is because I actually went to school with a son of one of the more notorious ponzi schemers, but that whole plot reveal rung as very false to me. It seemed like so night and day from the WASP-yish life he was living.

END SPOILER

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Updated On: 8/18/13 at 07:12 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 7:17pm

SPOILERS



See to me, the plot with the son wasn't even what rang most false. To me, it was Jasmine's relationship with her sister, Ginger. Ginger had even told her kids that Jasmine was batshlt crazy but never once did she seem concerned with her health while she was staying with her. Even when Jasmine began to seriously decline, Ginger never seemed concerned which, while watching the film, made no sense to me. It was extremely "un-Stella" like.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 7:51pm

SPOILERS



I did think in the play/movie Stella does see Blanche have certain moments of where the craziness seep through. It was never clear that Ginger ever saw those moments actually happen, which can be very different than hearing about it. But I think Ginger felt, understandably, very distant and unappreciated by Jasmine. She had her own life and her choices were getting scrutinized by somebody who never really cared for her. That being said, I thought the scene of Jasmine really losing it in front of Ginger's kids would be a much bigger deal.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 7:54pm

Well not only that, but when Jasmine took the kids out (something I would NEVER allow someone who I suspected of being unstable to do), they said something like "Mom says you're batshlt crazy and talk to yourself". So clearly, Ginger knows her problems and puts them aside. To me, that really made me question everything about the film. I'm happy for Woody Allen that it's getting such good reviews but in hindsight, to me, this is a ** out of **** movie.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 8:34pm

Blanchett is the favorite right now and might just have the good will and self-promotion skills to stay there through Oscar night. We just need to see how the other major anticipated performances shake out and what little indies start to get traction.

As for the Streetcar comparison, I caught it early on. I just wish Woody Allen played more with it. Some of the better ideas were the blatant parallels--especially the Stanley Kowalski-like Chili as the ultimate cry baby/macho man hybrid. I didn't really get into Blue Jasmine because I think there were too many ideas going on and not enough structure to hold them together.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 8:37pm

I totally here with you. However, if Blanchett were to win the Oscar, I wouldn't be upset at all.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 8:43pm

It seems like a lot of Woody's recent films have been homages to past writers and directors.

Well, MATCH POINT especially and CASSANDRA'S DREAM to a lesser degree borrow heavily from Dreiser's AMERICAN TRAGEDY, so it's a fair point to posit that Woody is paying homage rather explicitly as of late.

Having seen BLUE JASMINE, I don't think that the STREETCAR correlation is as direct or onerous as some people are claiming. Is EVERY damaged female character a version of Blanche Dubois? Is every troubled sisterly relationship a Blanche and Stella? There are elements that could be read as STREETCAR-esque, but I don't think it's as strong or simple as that.

Having seen the film, I think Cate Blanchett gives one of the best performances I've ever seen. And having seen her actually perform Blanche Dubois, her Jasmine is NOTHING like her Blanche.

[Addison D.]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 8:45pm

I haven't seen it yet, although I am very eager to do so.

The UES/UWS has always been Allen's milieu, and his ability to connect with the subtle emotional shadings of the lives of its denizens one of his great strengths, IMO. It is too easy to portray that very privileged world with a broad brush in a way that leaves the audience un-interested in and un-sympathetic to their emotional travails.

I recently watched as much of 'It's Complicated' as I could bear (about an hour) and I was shocked at what a banal and offensive portrayal Meryl Streep could give, given a bad enough script and the "right" hack director.

Contrast that with Maureen Stapleton in 'Interiors', Mia Farrow in 'Alice' or Judy Davis' shattering performance in 'Husbands & Wives'.

In this world, the financial meltdown, the Madoff scandal and the general loss of prestige/esteem felt by the BSD's on Wall Street have been cataclysmic, and it is an obvious subject for Allen. The impact on The Wives has been enormous. These women--hothouse flowers, to be sure--have spent a long, long time in their cocoons (to mix a metaphor) and Blanche DuBois strikes me as an apt literary avatar.

I can't wait to see what Allen and Blanchett make of the story.

Updated On: 8/18/13 at 08:45 PM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 9:09pm

More than Bergman, Fellini, Chekhov or any one else from whom Allen has affectionately and blatantly borrowed, Williams has brought something truly great out of him. The result is not simply derivative but truly inspired. This is a cross pollination but it is also highly original and very different than anything Allen has ever done. Though in some ways Purple Rose, a very different but equally lyrical movie, with its very different but equally tragic heroine, comes close.

Here, Streetcar's archetypes and themes, its kitchen sink family reunion and dubious class conflicts and sexual tensions, and, above all, the protagonist's descent to hell, inform a very contemporary and quite different narrative. Taking place in a very different U.S.. It is his most beautifully realized movie in many years. Yes, there are imperfections and contrivances but this remains a painful, painfully funny, gripping and mature work. Leading a flawless cast, Blanchett is exquisite.



Updated On: 8/19/13 at 09:09 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 9:16pm

"It is his most beautifully realized movie in many years."

Oh, I'd give that title to MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, which I think holds its own as one of Allen's best films ever.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 9:17pm

Agreed, Jordan. Blanchett gives a great performance. I'm trying to decide between Rosario Dawson in Trance, Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha, and Blanchett in Blue Jasmine as my favorite performance of the year so far. Very different work in very different films.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 9:23pm

I think it's too early to hand the Oscar to Cate, considering that Oscar season hasn't even started yet. We'll have to see how her buzz holds up in the months to come.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 10:17pm

I agree with everything AC said about Blanchett's performance. And I would also call this Allen's most fully-realized movie in years. I thought it was lightyears better than MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, actually. And I liked MIDNIGHT IN PARIS quite a bit.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 10:22pm

I was disgusted by how similar it was. Then I read it was deliberate... I still hated every minute of the film, even if Blanchett is remarkable in it.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 10:27pm

I've never had a feeling for her one way or another before but her performance is so remarkable in this. Manhola Dargis worked the Streetcar theme deep into the ground in her Times review, going so far as to link "Blanche" and "Blanchette." To me, it's just a great woman having a total breakdown film with a last scene that rivals Sunset Blvd. also, Sally Hawkins is top notch once again.

Updated On: 8/18/13 at 10:27 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/18/13 at 10:28pm

Yeah, her final scene is breathtaking. And if Hawkins doesn't get a nomination, there's no justice in the world.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/19/13 at 6:56am

Midnight in Paris was a joy. I sat there with a smile on my face the entire time both times I saw it and found it even better on second viewing. It's all heart. There isn't much heart in Matchpoint but it's a technically masterful redux of the dark half of Crimes and Misdemeanors. And that's achievement enough.

Cassandra may be far better than most people realized if they thought about it at all. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is certainly far better than most people realized if they thought about it all, and Naomi Watts gives one of her best performances.

Whatever Works was a disaster. To Rome With Love almost as bad.

Some of the reviews on this thread of what Cate does for Blue Jasmine remind me of how I felt about Penelope and Vicky, e.g., a case of a great actress in the right role elevating weak material.

I'd raise that. Blue Jasmine is the case of a phenomenal actress in a terrific role elevating a very compelling and important movie to greatness.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/19/13 at 8:47am

A friend of mine just saw BLUE JASMINE and was pretty angry that Woody Allen went to San Francisco and populated it with New Yorkers.

I've no intention of sitting through this anytime soon -- after the execrable MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Woody's finally been delegated to the "Basic Cable If At All" file.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/19/13 at 11:24pm

There are many more pleasures to be found in Blue Jasmine than in Elysium, to pick just one of too many examples from this summer's steaming pile of movies.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/19/13 at 11:40pm

I was so so so excited for Elysium. I can't even begin to tell you how upset I was, sitting in that theatre bored out of my mind for 2 hours.