What i liked most about Allen's remake of Tennessee
Williams's classic play is that his Jasmine Frenchis is an epitome of
inconsistency and whimsicality but at the same time, vulnerable! ( Let's not
compare it with Vivien Leigh's act in 'A street car named desire'). Jasmine is
selfish, neurotic, delusional, alcoholic, self destructive..yet classy,
charming, scared, and feverish at the same time. She is ashamed of herself, of
what she became, of how low she has fallen, while she believes that she is entitled
to the classiest things in life. There is obvious pretention & guilt that she
carries with her. She tries to adjust to her present surroundings but she has no skills for survival in it on
her own. With one gesture, one look, one change of facial expression, Cate
Blanchet takes her character from high hopes to turmoil to despair &
disaster, from glitz and glamour as a high profile socialite of the recent past
to the uncertainty and fear of her shabby present, and watching her impetuous
sudden transformations is heart wrenching, yet comic at the same time . She
also mines the sharp, class- based humor in Jasmine's struggles with some
notable highlights like:
i) the scene where she attends to the call from Dwight in
between her spells of hysteria in a calm poised manner,sets up a date, asks him
to pick up, ends the call & then breaks down uncontrollably for her
pitiable situation.
ii) a hilariously executed scene in a pizza restaurant where
she explains to her confused nephews to "Tip big, boys".
iii) the climax scene where she is talking to herself on a
park bench.
iv) The neurotic spookiness on her face when she lies to
Chili & Ginger about her plans of moving out of her sister's house &
living in with her 'new found' rich boyfriend Dwight.
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