Blue Jasmine

Sometimes, when RKZ and I get into a "small argument", I will storm out of the house and go see a movie by myself. Normally, I'll see a movie he has no interest in seeing as this seems like a giant act of rebellion on my part (also, even though I'm mad, I don't like to see something without him that I know he'd like -such is love, I guess). Earlier in the year, one such movie was Blue Jasmine. Honestly, I didn't really want to see the movie, but it was well-reviewed and the only thing playing in the time slot I'd given myself for an adult tantrum. 

What a revelation Cate Blanchet is. I mean, not a revelation, exactly, since everyone already knows she's a great actress…but she is very raw and tragic in her role and I was actually mesmerized by her. She is the movie, truth be told. The plot is that a very rich woman's husband is revealed to be a major schemer (Madoff-style) and he's put in prison. He kills himself (not a spoiler - it's in the first 10 minutes) and she is left to figure out her future. She basically unravels throughout the film. 

This was a great movie to see on my own in the midst of my own irritation at the one I love.  This is not a date movie. It's honestly not an anything movie. If you haven't seen it, I'd rent it on a day when you just want to revel in someone else's misery. Or the day you're mad that other people have more money than you. Or the day after a "Rich Kids of Beverly Hills" Marathon. 

If you like "A Streetcar Named Desire", this is the movie for you. If you teach "ASND", you could have your students watch this film and then write a compare/contrast essay. It might honestly make for good reading. 

The movie is OK. Woody Allen directed (I saw it before his daughter wrote her letter or I wouldn't have gone) and Cate Blanchet is phenomenal even as a broken soul. 

Happy Saturday!