Blue Jasmine

Usually I don't think much about Woody Allen movies. I go to them because I like their rather off hand ambience. I don't always love them, but I'll go because I think Woody Allen is a master of characterization. He doesn't need bombs or flashes or sometimes, not even wit. Maybe the reasons actors like to work with him is because they really can assume an identity that stays true to itself. And certainly, an actor with flaws really drowns in Woody Allenland.  Here is where I come from- I didn't like Annie Hall, but I LOVED Match Point. And now, there is this. I think this may be the best Woody Allen movie ever made- not just for the script, but for the incredible cast. Cate Blanchett will win the academy award. I don't see how she could lose unless Meryl Streep makes a movie where she ACTUALLY dies on camera. Blanchett is so painfully raw and so mentally ill. She cannot believe something wrong has happened to her life since she was raised to believe her life would be different from her other adopted sister because she had "the good genes". Her name is too common for her- so she becomes Jasmine.  She steps into wealth with a sense of entitlement, refuses to see her husband's infidelities or crimes though she knows it all exists, feels pity for her sister because she is somehow "less", and cannot work a simple job because her vodka and xanax soaked brain has left her a muddled mess. She believes in charitable giving- though she does worse than nothing for her own sister (see the movie).   Like other Allen films, there is a twist at the end- I cannot tell you what it is- but you will find what has driven Jasmine to this misery is what she has done to herself.  I really loved this. I think it was flawless. If you don't give it thought after seeing it, you will miss the point. Go see it.