Woody Allen is one of those directors that people will admire and others will hate, to me he's always been interesting and insightful and the best of his films boast terrific writing(dialogue and character development) and performances. His filmography has been hit and miss since Husbands and Wives but the period from Annie Hall to Husbands and Wives saw some of his best ever work. Blue Jasmine is not quite one of his masterpieces like Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdeameanours, Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters, but it does tie with Midnight in Paris as his best film the past decade or so(certainly much better than his previous film, the uneven To Rome with Love). The ending is too abrupt, though admittedly it is devastating too however that is it with the quibbles for Blue Jasmine from personal opinion. The scenery is lovely and like much of Woody Allen's work it is beautifully and cleverly filmed. The bluesy soundtrack is seductive and catchy with a strong sense of nostalgia, while Allen's direction is adroit and the story(a loose homage to A Streetcar Named Desire) while with some going back and forth that may confuse some is compelling and layered. It has slow parts but that is not a bad thing as life as the film is depicting can be slow and uneventful. The script contains some of the sharpest, funniest, most emotionally investing and observant dialogue of any Allen film in recent years and is structured very tightly. It deals with themes of life, death, depression and denial and deals with them honestly, sometimes in a blunt way, and sometimes sardonically. The characters and their relationships drive the film in a way and while they are neurotic(not new for Allen) and they are not the most likable in the world, but with Woody Allen they are not always intended to be. Most of Allen's characters are very interesting and very compelling in their realism, as people will testify there are definitely not likable in this world and there are those that mirror the personalities and lives of the characters in this film and in Woody Allen's films in general. The performances are great, Andrew Dice Clay is surprisingly effective in a nuanced turn and Alec Baldwin and Bobby Cavanale are very good as well. Sally Hawkins along with Clay is the standout support performance, the relationship between her and Blanchett's Jasmine is the most interesting in the film and each scene with them together is delightful. Best of all is Cate Blanchett, her truly sensationally powerful performance is to me the best female performance of the year and one of her best as well. Overall, a terrific film and one of Allen's best in a fair bit of time. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) is a snooty New York socialite who loses everything when her husband Hal (Alec Baldwin) is imprisoned for financial fraud. She is forced to live with her lower class sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco. They were both adopted but Jasmine was always the favorite. Also Hal had lost Ginger and her husband Augie (Andrew Dice Clay)'s money.

I write this in the midst of the resurfacing of Woody Allen's personal problems. This must be overlooked for a review of his movie. Anyways, this is much more Cate Blanchett's movie. She is absolutely amazing and deserves the Oscar. Whether Woody's turmoil has tanked her chances, time will tell.

If there is possible improvement, it's to get Sally Hawkins more time with Cate Blanchett. Their relationship is where the best character developments are. The flashbacks to Jasmine history with Hal is less compelling. We already know most of her past story. Showing the audience adds very little. However Jasmine having hallucinations is a great way to have those flashbacks.

This film was so disturbing. At first I found Blanchett's Jasmine as almost Chaplinesque until I came to realize that we were viewing a woman on the verge of a total breakdown Her perpetual efforts to get back the only life she knew is hard for the viewer to handle. We are struck with aversion on the one hand and a need to rescue on the other. Her problems are based on an existence which most of us can't comprehend. She has been the toy of an evil financial manipulator who gives her everything she wants and then pulls it all away when he is arrested for shady dealings. She wants the life back and begins a relationship with a rich widower, lying to him that she is an interior designer. The truth is that her ex-, played by Alec Baldwin, has committed suicide in prison and left her to the wolves. Now she is a shell of a woman with all the baggage of the spoiled and no survival skills. She lands at the house of her sister whom she has always outshined. Blanchett's performance as the tightly wound neo-Blanche Dubois is remarkable. She is a recipe for disaster and is embraced by it. This is not a pleasant experience but it grabs at our souls. She overstays her welcome and must get on. But how?