Review: Blue Jasmine

                                          Blue Jasmine: Woody Allen's Newest Masterpiece

                       When I first saw Midnight In Paris, one of Woody Allen's latest films, I have started to become a fan of his since, and now, he has taken an interesting route into dramatic territory with his latest achievement, Blue Jasmine.

                        Story:
                       Blue Jasmine is about a woman named Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) who moves to San Francisco to live with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins) who tries to help her reassemble her life after she becomes depressed by the arrest of her rich but corrupt husband and loses all her money.

                       What I Liked About It:
                      First off, I absolutely loved Cate Blanchett's performance as Jasmine. She just inhales this role and plays it with a lot of flare by mixing her performance with humor, vulnerability, sassiness, and depth. Blanchett is getting a lot of Oscar talk for her performance and I certainly cross my fingers that she gets nominated as she is fantastic and some say she is at her best. Also, another actress I'd like to talk about is Sally Hawkins, who plays Ginger, Jasmine's sister. This is the first film I've seen Hawkins in, but I really look forward to her future work after seeing her performance in this, and I cross my fingers that she gets Oscar recognition like Cate Blanchett.

                     Another thing that I really liked was how the film demonstrates how financial corruption takes a personal toll on people's well-being. As Jasmine goes on a downward spiral, it is revealed to be because she was once married to a wealthy man, and once he was put away in prison, Jasmine saw the high life vanish right in front of her eyes and she slowly has a psychotic breakdown. Honestly, I could see something similar to this happen in real life.

                    What I Didn't Like About It:
                   Nothing.

                    Consensus:
                  Overall, Blue Jasmine is a terrific and solid dramatic piece of work that features a commanding performance by the marvelous Cate Blanchett, as well as great performances from her co-stars, especially Sally Hawkins. Honestly, after watching this film, it now makes me want to check out Woody Allen's past work.

Rating: 4.5/5