Blue Jasmine (2013)

A New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives in San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks a million, but isn't bringing money, peace, or love...

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard

Won 1 Oscar. Another 51 wins & 74 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cate Blanchett	...	Jasmine
Joy Carlin	...	Woman on Plane
Richard Conti	...	Woman's Husband
Glen Caspillo	...	Cab Driver
Alec Baldwin	...	Hal
Charlie Tahan	...	Young Danny
Annie McNamara	...	Jasmine's Friend Nora
Sally Hawkins	...	Ginger
Daniel Jenks	...	Matthew
Max Rutherford	...	Johnny
Andrew Dice Clay	...	Augie
Tammy Blanchard	...	Jasmine's Friend Jane
Kathy Tong	...	Raylene
Ted Neustadt	...	Hal and Jasmine's Friend
Andrew Long	...	Hal and Jasmine's Friend

Storyline

Jasmine French used to be on the top of the heap as a New York socialite, but now is returning to her estranged sister in San Francisco utterly ruined. As Jasmine struggles with her haunting memories of a privileged past bearing dark realities she ignored, she tries to recover in her present. Unfortunately, it all proves a losing battle as Jasmine's narcissistic hangups and their consequences begin to overwhelm her. In doing so, her old pretensions and new deceits begin to foul up everyone's lives, especially her own.

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Plot Keywords:

self deception | snob | congenital liar | talking to oneself | mental breakdown | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, language and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Burû Jasumin

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$612,064 (USA) (26 July 2013)

Gross:

$33,404,871 (USA) (28 March 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gravier Productions, Perdido Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cate Blanchett studied the "60 Minutes" interview with Ruth Madoff, the wife of disgraced Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff, to emulate certain vocal inflections and body language that Ruth displayed in order to capture the essence of a woman whose once wealthy and privileged world comes crumbling down around her.

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Goofs

When we see Ginger and Al walking along the beach promenade the morning after the party, Ginger has a white handbag. She was carrying the pricey yellow Fendi (purchased for her by Jasmine in NYC) when she was at the party and she and Al have obviously been out all night.

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Quotes

Jasmine: Anxiety, nightmares and a nervous breakdown, there's only so many traumas a person can withstand until they take to the streets and start screaming.

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Connections

Featured in 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2014)

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Soundtracks

Back O'Town Blues
Composed by Louis Armstrong & Luis Russell
Performed by Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Good...but not THAT good

One of the better movies Woody Allen has put out in recent years, featuring superior performances by Cate Blanchett as an emotionally unstable woman forced to come down from her privileged past and Sally Hawkins as her enabling lower-income sister. Allen's screenplay is often amusing although it meanders at times (I looked at my watch more than once during the screening I attended) and its story seems uncomfortably reminiscent of "A Streetcar Named Desire" with Blanchett in the Blanche DuBois role, Sally Hawkins as Stella, Peter Sarsgaard as Mitch and Bobby Cannavale as Stanley Kowalski. It lacks the dramatic power and sexual tension of Tennessee Williams' masterpiece and in the end, Allen's urbane sophistication doesn't make up for it.

There is a tendency in recent years to either over-praise Allen or rip him to shreds. I don't think this film deserves either fate, being an enjoyably diverting if occasionally pretentious and derivative comedy/drama. It may not belong in the pantheon of great Woody Allen movies like "Annie Hall" or "Manhattan" but it's no "Curse of the Jade Scorpion" or "Celebrity" either. If it didn't have the Woody Allen brand on it, I suspect that it would quickly come and go without notice as a fairly well-made independent drama with some nice acting that has some gripping sequences while ultimately being a little on the dull side. Because of Allen's enduring reputation, it will probably pick up an Oscar nomination or two (for Blanchett's performance and for Allen's questionably "original" screenplay) because Allen's name still carries cache with the taste arbiters. It had too many dull stretches and redundant exchanges for that kind of attention for my money, but its high points made me feel like there were worse ways to spend an hour and a half.