Ryan McNeil
A wise rapper once said “Mo’ money, mo’ problems”. You’d think that would be a sign pointing people towards the peril of living a high life. Perhaps those living a high life just don’t listen to hip-hop.
BLUE JASMINE is the story of a woman (Cate Blanchett). Born Jeanette, she now goes by Jasmine – a name that enticed a millionaire. That millionaire, Hal (Alec Baldwin), is a man who Jasmine is no longer with by the time the film begins. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn much about their relationship in Manhattan. We learn that Jasmine was perfectly happy not to ask questions, so long as she got to partake in a lavish lifestyle. We learn that Hal’s financial dealings had a sheen of legitimacy, and even traces of philanthropy. However, he was always obsessed with gaming the financial system…not bending rules so much as figuring out the sneakiest way to break them.
When Hal and Jasmine’s relationship ends, she is left adrift. In desperation, she reaches out to her sister in San Francisco. Her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins) agrees to take her in, hoping that Jasmine can find her footing soon. This decision weighs heavily both on Ginger’s ex, Auggie (Andrew Dice Clay), who is still bitter about money of his that Hal lost. It also weighs on Ginger’s current beau Chili (Bobby Canavalle), who is looking forward to making long-term plans with Ginger, but can’t while Jasmine is living in Gingers tiny apartment.
While Jasmine tries to decide what to do next – a decision influenced heavily by vodka and Xanax – she meets a charming young man named Dwight. Dwight represents a lot of things – redemption, a fresh start – and all of it burns so much brighter as he takes a shining to Jasmine. But has Jasmine learned enough from her past? Even if she has, is she composed enough to put those lessons to good use?
BLUE JASMINE does a lot of amazing things to tell a story about the point where decisions and appearances intersect. The story falls in with several other modern offerings from director Woody Allen that underline how little thought we are putting into the decisions we make. Perhaps it’s because we fail to recognize the consequences of our decisions at the moment we choose to make them…perhaps we just don’t care. Whatever the case, characters like Jasmine, Hal, and Ginger are prime examples of people who have bad decisions come back to haunt them.
What’s worse is the way all three characters make decisions that end up hurting others just as much as them. This makes the plot of the film cut that much deeper, showing that our mistakes are often not only our own. Hurting another person through something we have done would be bad enough, but hurting people we care about so deeply brings on a whole other level of hell.
The sad thing is, that even after we walk away from a film like BLUE JASMINE, we’ll keep screwing up…screwing up big…and screwing up badly.
One factor is impulse – whether its Ginger’s impulse for affection, or Hal’s impulse for wealth. You get the impression that if we ever thought anything all the way through, that we wouldn’t make such bad choices, but I don’t think we can ever complete tune out the temptation of immediate satisfaction.
The other factor is at the core of Jasmine’s tragedy: appearances. For people in the world like Jasmine, it doesn’t matter if you’re less intelligent, more dependent, or emotionally stable. If the average onlooker thinks you’re all of these things, then that’s good enough. That’s what allows Jasmine to be both blissfully unaware of Hal’s infidelities and fraudulent activities. She believes people look at her glamourous life, expensive clothes, and sprawling homes and think she’s got it all. Anybody who talks to her for more than five minutes can see she’s a mess, but Jasmine isn’t worried about them. She’s only worried about those at a distance, not those that are close.
Watching Blanchett wrestle with this appearance-obsession is what makes BLUE JASMINE so special. She switches from sophisticated to manic at will, and many times switches back again just as quick. At times, she appears to be classy and composed, but when we take two steps away from her she’ll start talking to herself. She has taken a terrific fall, and can’t seem to recover from the crash back down to earth. Seeing her alternately take advantage of and deny people trying to help her makes the film feel especially tragic.
Take for instance the moment she meets Dwight. Here’s a guy who seems to have a lot going on, who is genuinely interested in Jasmine, and seems to be everything she wants. Heck, he’s everything she needs. In this moment, were she honest about herself, open up a bit without getting into the whole sob-story, she might have made a connection based on candour. Instead, she doubts herself. She believes that no man this put-together could ever be interested in the hot mess she has become. So she wrecks things in that instant…but wrecks them in a far worse manner than if she’d had a complete meltdown in front of him and sent him running.
We worry about appearances and we make bad decisions. Sometimes one leads to the other, and sometimes it’s the reverse. Despite the fact that so many of us are struggling to keep it together in this increasingly stressful world, we seem hellbent on being ashamed of our own damage. It’s enough to make you wonder what is really the better life? The one that puts you in the lap of luxury, but susceptible to deceit, infidelity, and fraud? Or the one that puts you in a small home barely making ends meet, but surrounded by people who care about you and content to share life’s simple pleasures?
I finally get a crack at this on Thursday. I hope to enjoy it as much as you.
So, Thursday came and went – what’d you think?
Didn’t like the hot mess as much as you did. Too many added on bits that distracted from the story. Like who is named Chili? That’s not real! Why would the married dentist immediately hit on her? Is there seriously a woman her age who can’t use a computer? Too many of these tid bits that I found distracting.
Chili is a name actually, even if it wasn’t, we didn’t complain after Get Shorty, did we? As for grown adults who can’t use computers, there are more of them than you’d believe. We take it for granted because we have essentially grown up with computers, but there are a lot of people Jasmine’s age who are so tech-illeterate you wouldn’t believe it (I say this as a person who used to work a computer service counter).
I wouldn’t go twelve rounds for this film, so I won;t go so far as to say “you’re wrong”, but if nothing else, I think the film was worthwhile for Blanchett’s performance alone!