Blue Jasmine

Last updated
Blue Jasmine
Blue Jasmine poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Woody Allen
Written byWoody Allen
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Javier Aguirresarobe
Edited by Alisa Lepselter
Production
companies
  • Gravier Productions
  • Perdido Productions
Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
Release date
  • July 26, 2013 (2013-07-26)(United States)
Running time
98 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$18 million [2]
Box office$99.1 million [3]

Blue Jasmine is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film tells the story of a rich Manhattan socialite (Cate Blanchett) who falls on hard times and has to move into her working-class sister's (Sally Hawkins) apartment in San Francisco.

Contents

The film received a limited release on July 26, 2013, in New York and Los Angeles, before expanding nationwide on August 23, 2013. It was met with critical acclaim, with praise for Blanchett's and Hawkins' performances and Allen's screenplay. Blanchett won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Hawkins and Allen were nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay. Blanchett also won the Golden Globe Award, the SAG Award, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film was also a box office success, earning $99.1 million worldwide against a budget of $18 million.

Plot

Jasmine Francis disembarks in San Francisco after a flight from New York City. She takes a taxi to her sister Ginger's apartment, where Ginger is dismayed to learn that Jasmine traveled first class despite claiming to be broke. Jasmine has recently suffered a nervous breakdown and, having incurred heavy debts, has been forced to seek refuge with her sister.

A series of flashbacks reveals that Jasmine's husband, money manager Hal Francis, was arrested for defrauding his clients. Ginger and her husband, Augie, were among Hal's victims; he swindled them out of $200,000 in lottery winnings that Augie had wanted to start a business with, and their marriage fell apart. Hal dies by suicide in prison after being publicly disgraced. Jasmine's stepson Danny subsequently dropped out of Harvard and severed all ties with Jasmine. Following Hal's death, Jasmine began drinking heavily and abusing anti-anxiety medication. She also developed a habit of talking to herself about her past.

Ginger is now dating a mechanic called Chili, whom Jasmine detests for his working class job and coarse manners. Jasmine considers becoming an interior designer because of her "great taste" and past experience in decorating her homes. She wants to take an online course as these are least expensive but having no computer skills, she decides to take a class in computers first. With no income, she grudgingly takes a job as a receptionist with a dentist, who harasses her with unwanted sexual advances. When he assaults her, she fights him off and quits.

Jasmine's situation improves when she meets a wealthy widower, Dwight Westlake, at a party in Marin County north of San Francisco. She attends by invitation of a friend at the computer studies class; her old friends are no longer in contact. Dwight is a diplomat aspiring to become a congressman. She poses as an interior designer, telling him that her husband was a surgeon who died of a heart attack, and adds that she has no children. Dwight is impressed by her stylishness and invites her to decorate his new home. Ginger begins a romance with Al, whom she met at the same party. She breaks up with Chili, who begs her not to leave him. Eventually, she discovers that Al is married and reconciles with Chili, realizing she has been influenced by Jasmine to believe Chili was beneath her.

Jasmine develops a romance with Dwight, and he is about to buy her an engagement ring, when they bump into Augie outside the jewelry store. Augie rails at Jasmine about the money Hal swindled from him. Augie also reveals that Danny is living nearby in Oakland and is now married. Dwight is outraged that Jasmine lied to him and calls off the engagement. Jasmine goes to Oakland and finds Danny, who tells Jasmine he never wants to see her again because of what she did to his father.

It is revealed that Jasmine finally learned of Hal's many affairs and confronted him. When he told her he wanted to divorce her to be with a 19-year-old au pair , Jasmine, rather than divorce him, called the FBI to inform the authorities of Hal's fraudulent business dealings, which led to his arrest.

Jasmine returns to her sister's apartment and finds Ginger back with Chili, who is now moving in. Jasmine and Chili needle each other, and Jasmine is furious when Ginger takes his side. Jasmine says she is going to marry Dwight and is moving out that day. She exits the apartment, walks to a park bench, sits, and begins muttering to herself.

Cast

Production

In preparation for her role, Blanchett explained, "I did a lot of people watching. I drank my fair share of rosé. In the end I had to play the anti-heroine that Woody's written, but of course I thought about the Madoff scandal, because that's the holocaust of the financial crisis. And there are many, many women like that. I followed them like everybody else did, but as an actress you go back and you're slightly more forensic about those relationships." [4]

The filming of a scene in San Francisco in December 2012.

The film was shot in 2012 in New York City and San Francisco. [5] Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, and Edward Walson served as the film's producers. [6] Sony Pictures Classics distributed the film, marking the sixth collaboration between the label and Allen. [7]

The outfits for Blanchett's Jasmine were an important part of her character and narrative, but they were difficult to assemble because of a very limited total costume budget of $35,000. [8] To supplement this, costume designer Suzy Benzinger used her and Woody Allen's connections with various fashion houses to borrow some of the more expensive items for the production. These included Fendi, Chanel, Hermès, Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera. [9] Blanchett also helped, by using her relationship with Louis Vuitton to secure monogrammed luggage for the production, after Vuitton refused Benzinger's request. Karl Lagerfeld supplied two copies of the white Chanel bouclé jacket which Jasmine wears throughout the film, one brand new for the flashback scenes of Jasmine's affluent life in New York, and one for the San Francisco scenes which Benzinger distressed by soaking in fabric softener to give it the appearance of overuse. [9]

Release

Blue Jasmine had a limited release at six theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on July 26, 2013, and expanded nationwide on August 23, 2013. [10] Woody Allen refused to release the film in India because the country requires a blurb to be inserted at the bottom of any scenes during which a character is smoking. This is in addition to health warnings that are required to be shown at the beginning and end of the film. [11]

Home media

Blue Jasmine was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 21, 2014.

Reception

Box office

The film received a slow rollout, modeled after the release of Midnight in Paris ; it was estimated to have grossed over US$600,000 in its first three days, which took place at six theaters in Los Angeles and New York City. [10] It was Allen's "best-ever opening per-screen average" and the year's highest per-screen average, beating Spring Breakers ' "impressive debut on three screens". [10] The film grossed US$33.4 million in the United States and US$64.1 million in the rest of the world. [3]

Critical response

Cate Blanchett at the Tropfest Opens (2012) (cropped).jpg
MJK35135 Sally Hawkins (Maudie, Berlinale 2017).jpg
The performances of Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins garnered critical acclaim, earning them Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively, with Blanchett winning her category.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 90% of 233 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine finds the director in peak late-period form -- and benefiting from a superb cast led by Cate Blanchett." [12] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [13]

Early reviews suggested the film would be rated very highly among Allen's recent offerings, and praised Blanchett's performance as one of her strongest, if not the best of her career: David Denby of The New Yorker stated that "in all, this is the strongest, most resonant movie Woody Allen has made in years". [14] Mick LaSalle, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle , wrote that "Blanchett in Blue Jasmine is beyond brilliant, beyond analysis. This is jaw-dropping work, what we go to the movies hoping to see, and we do. Every few years." [15] Writing for Rolling Stone , Peter Travers stated: "Blanchett is the film’s glory. She is miraculous at finding the bruised heart of this bullying elitist. If her struggle doesn’t win respect, it does earn our empathy. The sight of Jasmine – lost, alone and unable to conjure magic out of unyielding reality – is devastating. This is Blanchett triumphant, and not to be missed." [16] Andrew Dice Clay's performance was also critically praised in the film. [17]

Some critics have argued the film is Allen's response or tribute to the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, as it shares a very similar plot and characters. [18] [19] [20] It also features cast members who have previously been associated with the play: Baldwin played the role of Stanley Kowalski on stage in 1992 and in the 1995 adaptation of the play, while Blanchett played the leading role of Blanche DuBois in the Australian production of the play staged by the Sydney Theatre Company in 2008. [21] Other critics and cultural commentators theorized that the story of Jasmine as a "shrill narcissist falling apart" and "in a crisis of self-flagellation after living in denial for years" was modeled on Allen's former companion, Mia Farrow, and that the film is a response to their high-profile and acrimonious break-up. [22] [23]

Accolades

At the 2014 Academy Awards ceremony, Blue Jasmine had three nominations: Best Actress for Blanchett, Best Supporting Actress for Hawkins and Best Original Screenplay for Allen. [24] Blanchett was the sole winner. [25] At the 2014 Golden Globe Awards ceremony, the film had two nominations: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Blanchett and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for Hawkins, with Blanchett going on to win. Blanchett also won Best Actress at the BAFTAs, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Independent Spirit Awards. [26] [27] [28] Allen's screenplay was also nominated at the Writers Guild of America Awards [29] and the film was nominated for or won dozens of other awards worldwide.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Allen</span> American filmmaker, actor, and comedian (born 1935)

Heywood Allen is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many accolades, including the most nominations (16) for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for a Emmy Award and a Tony Award. Allen was awarded an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cate Blanchett</span> Australian actor and producer (born 1969)

Catherine Élise Blanchett is an Australian actor and film producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognized for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. Blanchett has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Davis</span> Australian film, television, and stage actress (born 1955)

Judith Davis is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequent collaborator Woody Allen described her as "one of the most exciting actresses in the world". Davis has received numerous accolades, including nine AACTA Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elle Fanning</span> American actress (born 1998)

Mary Elle Fanning is an American actress. She made her film debut as a child as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film I Am Sam (2001). She appeared in several other films as a child actress, including Daddy Day Care (2003), Babel (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Phoebe in Wonderland, and the miniseries The Lost Room (2006). She then had leading roles in Sofia Coppola's drama Somewhere (2010) and J. J. Abrams' science fiction film Super 8 (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Paulson</span> American actress (born 1974)

Sarah Catharine Paulson is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. In 2017, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Hawkins</span> British actress

Sally Cecilia Hawkins is an English actress who began her career on stage and then moved into film. She has received several awards including a Golden Globe Award in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards.

<i>Im Not There</i> 2007 film by Todd Haynes

I'm Not There is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oren Moverman, based on a story by Haynes. An experimental biographical film, it is inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, with six actors depicting different facets of Dylan's public personas: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw. A caption at the start of the film declares it to be "inspired by the music and the many lives of Bob Dylan"; this is the only mention of Dylan in the film apart from song credits, and his only appearance in it is concert footage from 1966 shown during the film's final moments.

<i>Notes on a Scandal</i> (film) 2006 film by Richard Eyre

Notes on a Scandal is a 2006 British psychological drama thriller directed by Richard Eyre and produced by Robert Fox and Scott Rudin. Adapted from the 2003 novel by Zoë Heller, the screenplay was written by Patrick Marber. The film stars Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Nighy, and centres on a lonely veteran teacher who uncovers a fellow teacher's illicit affair with an underage student.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow Valentino dress of Cate Blanchett</span>

Australian actress Cate Blanchett wore a pale yellow silk taffeta Valentino dress to the 77th Academy Awards on 26 February 2005. It was the dress Blanchett wore when she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Aviator in front of some 42.1 million people on American television. Cosmopolitan has cited the gown as one of the Best Oscar dresses of all time, stating, "In this yellow silk taffeta gown created especially for her by Valentino, Cate looks like a classic Hollywood starlet. The one-shoulder strap and contrasting belt are great details, and the color is perfect for her milk-white skin."

The 79th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2013, were announced on December 3, 2013 and presented on January 6, 2014.

The 12th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards were announced on December 8, 2013.

The 17th Online Film Critics Society Awards, honoring the best in film for 2013, were announced on 16 December 2013.

The 34th London Film Critics' Circle Awards, honouring the best in film for 2013, were announced by the London Film Critics' Circle on 2 February 2014.

The 48th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 4 January 2014, honored the best in film for 2013.

The 18th San Diego Film Critics Society Awards were announced on December 11, 2013.

The 13th New York Film Critics Online Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2013, were given on December 8, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Deauville American Film Festival</span>

The 39th Deauville American Film Festival took place at Deauville, France from August 30 to September 8, 2013. Steven Soderbergh's drama film Behind the Candelabra served as the opening night film. Snowpiercer by Bong Joon-ho was the closing night film of the festival. The Grand Prix was awarded to Night Moves by Kelly Reichardt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cate Blanchett on screen and stage</span>

Cate Blanchett is an Australian actress who has worked extensively on screen and on stage. She made her stage debut in 1992 as Electra in the National Institute of Dramatic Art production of the play of the same name, and followed in 1993 with performances in Timothy Daly's Kafka Dances, for which she won the Sydney Theatre Critics Award for Best Newcomer, and the Sydney Theatre Company stage production of Oleanna, winning Best Actress. She is the first actor to win both awards at once. She went on to perform several other roles on stage, notably Susan Traherne in Plenty (1999), Hedda Gabler in Hedda Gabler (2004), Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (2009), Yelena in Uncle Vanya (2011), and Claire in The Maids (2013).

Kaboria is a 1990 Egyptian boxing film written by Issam Al-Shamaa and directed by Khairy Beshara The film stars Ahmed Zaki, Raghda and Hussein El-Imam.

References

  1. ↑ "BLUE JASMINE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. August 23, 2013. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ Block, Alex (November 18, 2013). "Woody Allen in San Francisco: The Making of 'Blue Jasmine'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on November 21, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Blue Jasmine". Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  4. ↑ Pond, Steve (July 26, 2013). "How Cate Blanchett prepared to play a boozer in Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine'". TheWrap . Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  5. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (January 8, 2013). "Woody Allen Names His New Movie 'Blue Jasmine'". The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (January 8, 2013). "Sony Pictures Classics Nabs Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine". Sony Pictures. January 8, 2013. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  8. ↑ Trebay, Guy (August 13, 2013). "In 'Blue Jasmine,' Suzy Benzinger Turns Clothes Into Characters". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  9. 1 2 C, Marie (February 14, 2014). "Hermes, Vuitton, Fendi: Cate Blanchett's amazing wardrobe in BLUE JASMINE". Cinemazzi. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 Stewart, Andrew (July 28, 2013). "Cate Blanchett dramedy expands wide Aug. 23". Variety. Archived from the original on August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  11. ↑ Jamkhandikar, Shilpa (October 3, 2013). "Woody Allen stops "Blue Jasmine" India release because of anti-tobacco ads–India Insight". Reuters . Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Blue Jasmine". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  13. ↑ "Blue Jasmine". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  14. ↑ Denby, David (July 29, 2013). "Timely Projects". The New Yorker . Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  15. ↑ LaSalle, Mick (August 2, 2013). "'Blue Jasmine' review: Allen, Blanchett dazzle". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  16. ↑ Travers, Peter (July 25, 2013). "Blue Jasmine". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  17. ↑ Huver, Scott (July 30, 2013). "Andrew Dice Clay: A Reinvention in 'Blue'". NBC Bay Area . Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  18. ↑ Handy, Bruce (July 26, 2013). "Movie Review: Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine Is Perhaps His Cruelest-Ever Film". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  19. ↑ Wolcott, Gary (August 22, 2013). "Blue Jasmine: Woody Allen's excellent homage to A Streetcar Named Desire". Tri-city Herald . Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  20. ↑ Palmer, R. Barton (2022). "Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine: A Streetcar sans Desire". Tennessee Williams Annual Review (21). Historic New Orleans Collection: 86–104. doi:10.2307/48746062. JSTOR   48615455 . Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  21. ↑ Jinman, Richard (September 3, 2009). "Blanchett injured in stage fight". Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  22. ↑ Bale, Miriam (July 24, 2013). "Blue Jasmine: It's about Mia Farrow!". The L Magazine . Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  23. ↑ Smith, Liz (October 16, 2013). "Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine—Blanche DuBois or... Mia Farrow?". HuffPost . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  24. ↑ "2014 Oscar Nominees". Academy Awards. January 16, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Oscars 2014 Winners: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. March 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Bafta Film Awards 2014: Full list of winners". BBC News . February 17, 2014. Archived from the original on September 15, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  27. ↑ "SAG Awards 2014: Winners in Full". BBC News. January 19, 2014. Archived from the original on February 7, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  28. ↑ "'12 Years a Slave' Wins Best Feature at Spirit Awards". Variety. March 1, 2014. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  29. ↑ "WGA Awards 2014: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times . January 30, 2014. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.