Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
After experiencing a traumatic misfortune, Jasmine French, a wealthy woman from New York, moves to San Francisco to live with her foster sister Ginger and the firm purpose of getting a new life, but she will be haunted by anxiety and memories of the past.
Blue Jasmine is anchored almost entirely by Cate Blanchett's towering, Oscar-winning performance as the unraveling socialite Jasmine — genuinely exceptional acting that elevates every scene she inhabits. The ending is quietly devastating, leaving Jasmine muttering to herself on a park bench, a perfectly pitched conclusion that avoids sentimentality. The plot, while effective, is fairly conventional in its riches-to-rags structure, and Allen's screenplay — though sharp — recycles familiar Woody Allen neurotic character territory. Cinematography is competent but unremarkable, a functional backdrop to the performances rather than a visual statement. Novelty is moderate: the Blanche DuBois parallels give it literary texture, but the overall conception sits within Allen's established dramatic register.