(4 / 5)
Cate Blanchett goes Blanche Dubois in contemporary San Francisco.
In Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, Blanchett stars as a fragile, nervy Southern Belle. Her performance seems to have been lifted wholesale from her 2008 appearance in Streetcar – and it’s cracking; an assured Oscar nom.
A riches to rags tale, Woody Allen’s direction is crisp and the script otherwise focuses on endearing character sketches: Sally Hawkins’ cheery Ginger, Bobby Cannavale’s grease-ball Chili, Alec Baldwin as Jasmine’s charming conman ex. A light tragedy run through with comedy – Louis CK appears as the nice guy anti-Chili.
It’s not quite Tennessee Williams (though the jazz certainly makes an appearance), but the inspiration Allen draws from theater shows no sign of drying up.
