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 55 wins & 80 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 | congenital liar | riches to rags | snob | talking to oneself | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Jasmine French (Cate Blanchett) is based on Ruth Madoff, wife of Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff. After Madoff's Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2008, he was sent to prison. Ruth Madoff moved to Boca Raton, Florida, where she lived in a condo with her sister, Joan Ramon, and Ramon's husband, both of whom had been victims of Bernie Madoff's swindle. After losing millions, Ramon and her husband were operating a car service to make ends meet. Also, like Jasmine, Ruth Madoff became estranged from her two sons, who had reported their father's Ponzi scheme to the SEC. While one of her sons, Mark, committed suicide in 2011, Ruth eventually reconciled with her other son, Andrew, and he provided a house for her to live in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

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Goofs

When the women are in Chili's garden, Ginger's right and left legs are crossed in subsequent shots.

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Quotes

Ginger: You think Al is a step up from Chili?
Jasmine: Anybody is a step up from Chili.

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Connections

Featured in 71st Golden Globe Awards (2014)

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Soundtracks

Out on the Town
Composed & Performed by Kully Bhamra (as Kully B), Gussy G (as Gussy G) & Taren Bilkhu (as Bilkhu)
Courtesy of Extreme Music

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blue Jasmine

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$612,064, 28 July 2013

Gross USA:

$33,405,481

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$99,104,804

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gravier Productions, Perdido Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1 Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1