Not wanting to repeat how I began my previous blog post, but it really has been awhile, and out of the three blogs (yes, my ambition to create the perfect blog has seen me creating yet another new blog), I’ve chosen this blog as, firstly, I know how to use WordPress and secondly, I know too many people who read the other blog. Can’t a lady get a bit of anonymity these days, hey?
I’ve really lost my way in writing so I thought the easiest way of getting back into it was to write about someone else’s work. Blue Jasmine, written and directed by Woody Allen has been playing on my mind for a while so what better place to start.
This film is in no way a show-stopper, it’s gentle and tender and like any good story, doesn’t give the audience any conclusive answers. Jasmine, who gave herself that name later in life as a way of her distancing herself from her past, is the protagonist who we are introduced as she attempts to recover from the breakdown of her entire life.
Cate Blanchett plays Jasmine beautifully; a mesmerising performance in which we see her desperately trying to claw back her high-society status which she so tragically lost when the FBI arrest her husband and she loses everything she owns, albeit Jasmine is the one who calls the police on her husband after learning of his numerous affairs.
Jasmine portrays a path chosen in life that so many people are forced to take; not everyone is bequeathed with pearls and fancy watches by their husbands while holidaying in the Hamptons, yet many people understandably take the path that will most progress their life, even if their true happiness is sacrificed.
The character of Jasmine is contrasted with that of her adopted sister (Jasmine was also adopted, but treated more favourably by their parents due to her appearance), in that her sister doesn’t have a great amount of money, but unlike Jasmine, she is content with her family and her loving boyfriend. Jasmine, however, continuously looks the other way as her husband has affairs and carries out fraudulent deals.
Should, as Jasmine’s step-son thinks, be blamed for her lack of questioning of how his father acquired his riches and be equivalent to an accomplice in his crime? No, I don’t think so.
Jasmine is the ultimate social-climber, and the pressure to progress is the pressure much of society faces. Her stubborn determination to ignore her husband’s fraudulent activities and affairs was the exchange she was forced to make in order to live a luxurious lifestyle in which she would be deemed to be successful. Sure she could have finished university as she keeps repeating that she should have done, but there was the offer of a rich husband; even in 2013, this route offers more security for a woman, particularly one coming from a turbulent up-bringing.
Woody Allen leaves us with the feeling that, as hard as it seems, true happiness can only be achieved if we forget how we’ll be perceived by others and live a life that may not be filled with Caribbean holidays, but is a truthful life. This is a particular poignant message in a society places greatest value on what we own and not who we are.
beyond the bubble bath 
The last paragraph sums up what must be a good movie — I’ll definitely check it out. It is sad that our world defines true happiness according to the things that one owns, or one’s status in the society. As a result, some people strive to look like others, forgetting the best gift they can give to themselves is accepting who they really are and trying to better who they were yesterday.
Thanks for the in-depth review–it’s a good way to start blogging again.
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!