Cate Blanchett owns Blue Jasmine

It’s been ages since I’ve seen a Woody Allen movie. Last one I saw was Match Point in 2005 and before that it was 1994’s Bullets Over Broadway. I guess I like the “early, funny films” over his more dramatic output later in his career. But with all the acclaim Cate Blanchett has been getting for her performance in Blue Jasmine — not to mention the Golden Globe and SAG awards and Oscar nomination — and the release of the Blu-ray on January 21, I decided it was high time I gave this one a shot.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, it seems pretty simple on the surface. Jasmine Francis has it all. A super wealthy husband, a lavish home, a son in law school, fancy clothes, an abundance of friends, and pretty much everything else she could want. But that all comes crashing down when she learns of her husband’s affairs and that his wheeling and dealing was more stealing and cheating, including “investing” $200,000 of her sister’s finace’s money into a bogus real estate venture. With nothing left to her name, Jasmine has to leave New York to live with her sister in San Francisco until she can get back on her feet but that seems to be a greater task than anyone could have ever imagined.

Like I said, the plot seems to be fairly simple on the surface but Allen’s script and Blanchett’s performance bring many, many layers to the story. It’s like peeling an onion the way Allen has structured the film between the present and a flashback that illustrates how Jasmine has gotten to a particular place in the story. We see Jasmine arrive in San Francisco, presumably still full of herself as she babbles on to a fellow passenger who has no clue what’s she’s talking about. When Jasmine arrives at her sister’s apartment, she gives off an air of this place being beneath her even though she’s grateful for a place to stay.

As Jasmine has to come to terms with where life has taken her, Blanchett manages to make Jasmine one of the most unlikable characters ever committed to film but at the same time, you almost feel sorry for her, or you become happy for her when she meets Mr. Right and then you realize again what a horrid person she is as she concocts a new life story for him … and then you also realize what a terrible person Dwight (Peter Sarsgaard) is because he’s just attracted to Jasmine because she looks the part of a politician’s wife. Jasmine also meddles in her sister’s life by nearly causing the break-up of her relationship (she thinks Ginger can do better than the grease monkey she’s with … who loves Ginger with all his heart), and she proves totally inept at something as simple as working on a computer. You also wonder just how “clueless” Jasmine was to her husband’s scheming ways.

The one time you genuinely feel sorry for Jasmine is when her boss, a dentist for whom she takes a receptionist job to pay for her computer classes, becomes overly aggressive with her, forcing himself on her as she attempts to leave for the day. This is a totally shocking moment in the film because this is the one thing in Jasmine’s life that she didn’t deserve, and meeting Dwight shortly afterwards seems like she’s finally heading in the right direction. Blanchett plays every emotion possible, and even when she seems to be stabilizing, there’s always an undercurrent of despair or mania just brewing under the surface and is almost always clearly visible on Blanchett’s face. The devastating climax doesn’t give us any easy answers to Jasmine’s plight, leaving us to wonder if she’ll be able to survive on her own.

Blanchett has more than earned her accolades so far this year, and it would be simply stunning if she loses the Oscar. She gives a truly masterful, yet understated performance that sits on the complete opposite end of the spectrum as Meryl Streep’s “look at me!” performance in August: Osage County. While Sandra Bullock gave a powerful performance in Gravity, it’s beginning to seem more gimmicky and technical than actual acting, and Amy Adams may have won the Golden Globe for a comedic performance in American Hustle but she will not take home Oscar gold against Blanchett. One can assume, if you’ve seen Philomena, that Judi Dench is probably Blanchett’s only real competition. It will be a true injustice if Blanchett does not win.

Blanchett’s co-star Sally Hawkins is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress as Jasmine’ sister Ginger. Hawkins more than holds her own against Blanchett and gives Ginger’s story arc a lot of humanity, even if things happen a bit too quickly in the structure of the movie. It’s certainly no fault of her own, and she gives Ginger more strength beneath the surface than Jasmine believes she has. The supporting cast, including Sarsgaard, Bobby Cannavale, Alec Baldwin, Louis CK and, surprisingly, Andrew “Dice” Clay, also give very strong performances … but what does one expect from a Woody Allen ensemble?

The Blu-ray is gorgeous, with a sharp, colorful image that contrasts the golden luster of Jasmine’s New York life with the colorful Bohemia of her new life in San Francisco. The English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is crisp and clear, keeping the dialog front and center and Allen’s usual jazz score in the background. The surround speakers are barely used, but it’s still a very nice sounding track. The disk’s extras are sparse, with a six minute reel of red carpet and press interviews with Blanchett, Sarsgaard and Clay, and a 25 minute press conference with the same three actors answering questions about working with Woody and the way they approached their characters (clothes played a big part). I suppose it’s too much to expect any type of participation from Allen himself, but it would be nice to have a commentary track with Blanchett at the very least giving us more insight into what makes Jasmine tick.

If you haven’t seen Blue Jasmine yet, I do highly recommend checking out the Blu-ray or DVD. The presentation of the film is lovely and even if you can’t stand Jasmine, you’ll still be impressed by Blanchett and the rest of the cast and Allen’s deep, insightful Oscar-nominated script.