Blue Jasmine

Going to watch movies made by old movie-makers is usually a lot of fun. These directors have very little fucks to give and so they make movies from their heart and not tailored to a particular audience. As it is, Woody Allen, for most of his career didn't make movies that would appeal to a wide audience. Obviously he has his small but extremely tight fans. I was always intrigued by them. I mean I have watched Annie Hall previously and I liked it. But I wouldn't call myself a huge fan.

Well with this background I went to see the Blue Jasmine. I was expecting a fun but depressing movie. What I saw blew my mind. No seriously. This was a movie made by a guy who knew his craft. A tight movie with amazingly power packed performances. Cate Blanchett's acting is beyond words.

Blue Jasmine is a depressing tale of the leading character, Jasmine, whose husband turns out to be a Ponzi scam artist. The story builds slowly and shows how the once rich girl reacts once she loses all her money. How she cannot adjust to the menial, and how she pushes her poor but happy sister to get try and snatch a rich guy. In the process she almost destroys her sister's happiness. The detailing of Jasmine's fall to depression is just amazing. 

The movie has very very few scenes that are funny. Even though the movie is made by one of the leading stand-ups of the past and has a role for the biggest stand-up comedian of today ( Louis CK in a small role). 

A lot of the movies I like are tragedies. The well made ones really move you. And the point of cinema is to touch your emotion. One of my favourite ends to a movie is Moondram Pirai.  A depressed Kamal on seeing that Sridevi doen't even recognize him goes and sits in a bench. And the director focusses on his face and then pans to the credits. Extraordinarily moving. There the depression comes in ten minutes. Here its a slow but steady fall towards sadness. Its mostly bought on by Jasmine herself. You try to empathize with her when she tries to get out of her situation by trying to study. But she gives up and tries to use a short-cut to get out. And you stop feeling bad for her. But the end is heart rending nonetheless. She lies to her sister that she has got her escape and hopelessly depressed walks out sits on a park bench and starts mumbling about her past without realizing what she is doing. She is a complete wreck and in a pitiable condition. And Woody Allen fades to the credit.

For a couple of seconds you will be wondering WTF happened. But when you go home you will still be thining about the movie. About how brilliand Cate Blanchett and Woddy Allen are!