Blue Jasmine DVD Review

     Actors: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard

Director: Woody Allen

Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: January 21, 2014

Run Time: 98 minutes

 

        There is an unmistakable style to Woody Allen’s filmmaking, from the very first frames of old-fashioned opening credits over jazzy music to the expected musical chairs approach to relationships filling the plot twists with adultery and the subsequent regret. Blue Jasmine is no different than the rest, containing all of the expected aspects of an Allen narrative, though the main character and the manner with which Cate Blanchett embodies the role manages to elevate the film above these expectations.

 

        Blanchett stars as the title character, Jasmine, whose former life as a New York socialite is destroyed when the questionable business practices of her husband (Alec Baldwin) are revealed. Forced to move into a humble San Francisco apartment with her sister (Sally Hawkins), Jasmine must adjust her expectations from life and find a way to move forward. When she meets a handsomely wealthy young man (Peter Sarsgaard), Jasmine thinks that she has found the answer to all of her problems. The biggest issue, however, lies far more in Jasmine’s mental stability than financial.

 

        The film’s most dramatic choice is to tell the narrative out of order, so that we progressively see the drastic shift in Jasmine’s behavior from socialite to mentally unstable widow. There are few moments which offer a sympathetic protagonist, but Blanchett’s performance is mesmerizing enough to keep Blue Jasmine intriguing through even the most predictable of Allen plot twists. The DVD special features include notes from the red carpet and the press conference.

       

Entertainment Value: 7/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 8.5/10

Historical Significance: 7.5/10

Disc Features: 4/10