I rather liked this quote from FB:
Depression, anxiety, and panic attacks are not a sign of weakness. They are a signs of having remained strong for far too long. Did you know that 1 in 3 of us go through this at some point in our lives? [Having personally gone through all of the above, I can attest to how reassuring the quote is and how true. Life is tough. People are harsh. Compassion is harder to come by than it should be. We all rely on the kindness of strangers.]
Speaking of the above, just finished watching the Woody Allen film,
Blue Jasmine, which is basically Allen doing his own version of
Tennesee Williams' Streetcar Named Desire. (Except I think I preferred Streetcar Named Desire...less rambling, more poetry. Allen's characters tend to babble or ramble. While Williams...are more poetic. Also Allen's story takes place in modern day New York City and San Francisco. And, sorry, Andrew Dice Clay is not a young Marlon Brando.) And I've mixed feelings about this film. I can't quite decide if I liked it or not. I'm tempted to say that I didn't - it's depressing. But on the other hand...it's also weirdly haunting. A snapshot of life, and a rather realistic one. Again - I ask, why do these types of films, much like their novel counterparts, always focus on pathetic characters and bleak world-views? And I just realized something... what an odd thing to say about a Woody Allen film. It's almost an oxymoron. Allen, after all, rarely does bleak. Oh he does it. But rarely. Even here - he attempts to insert bits of humor.
Cate Blanchett's performance makes the movie. Other than that? Like I said above..I don't really know. Can't say I enjoyed it. Found it rather slow and difficult to watch in places, which may just be a mood thing? Humorous, it's not. It's more in line with Allen's darker character sketches, such as Match, Crimes and Misdeamenors, Husbands and Wives, Hannah and Her Sisters...
* Does repeat some bits from other Allen films, which Allen appears to be somewhat obsessed with, cheating husband and the deranged wife, mostly due to the husband falling for another woman. Other Allen films that reference this are:
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Hannah and Her Sisters
Husbands and Wives
I can't help but think Allen is struggling to find a way of apologizing or explaining his infidelity? Or womanizing? Womanizing appears in a lot of his stories. His supporting male character is a womanizer and he's usually the villain or antagonist, albeit a complex and somewhat inept one - keep in mind, Woody Allen. And the female heroine gets her revenge on him, somehow. Which is interesting.
There's also, always a neurotic character - whose the protagonist. In the darker ones - it tends to be the female character, in the comedic ones, it's the male character.
In this one, Cate Blanchett is the neurotic character, Jasmine. Who inadvertently appears to leave destruction in her wake. But she doesn't really. The other characters use her as a convenient scapegoat, a means to shirk their own responsibility for their own choices. Allen and Blanchett imbue her with a vulnerability and a sense of pride. Her fatal flaw appears to be her pride, and her desire to lie to herself about everything. As a result she's a very good liar - and lies to others as well. Telling them the lies she's told herself.
* Say what you will about Woody Allen films, he certainly creates powerful roles for women. He's also a lot like Alfred Hitchcock in that he will film several movies often with the same leading lady. His films often focus on a woman or have a female point of view. In this respect he reminds me a bit of Hitchcock and of Tennesee Williams, who also created great roles for women.
While I can't say I found the film enjoyable, it was fascinating in its character explorations - Allen films tend to be more character centric than plot centric. Jasmine is an interesting character. She's in the midst of a nervous breakdown and hanging by a thread.
As the movie progresses, you watch as various characters slowly pull and yank and unravel that thread. In some respects she helps them, unwittingly. They don't appear to see Jasmine at all. OR hear her. The characters don't listen to each other. Nor do they really connect. It's a rather sad film...about the human condition, with little hope. And while not nearly as intense or melodramatic as Williams' Streetcar, it's still as hopeless.
* The musical score is jazz...a soft burr in the background. Blue Moon...whispering on the airwaves at various points. Making one think more of New Orleans than Frisco or NYC. Which may be why its there...a homage to Williams' Streetcar, which does not hum with jazz, but more with the blues.
* Like I stated above, this is a hard film to watch and a harder one to like. From a purely objective standpoint - it is quite good. Also...haunting. I cringed through most of it.
( vague plot spoilers )* It was admittedly hard to watch this film without thinking about the recent Woody Allen scandal, which I've worked hard to ignore. This has happened once before with another Allen film -
Husbands and Wives, throughout that film, I kept thinking about the Mia Farrow and Woody Allen scandal (which is when that scandal first arose - gives you an idea how long that scandal has been going on, since Husbands and Wives was made in 1992 and was about 15 films ago. Allen is anything if not
prolific.
( how a scandal can interfer with your film enjoyment and one vague plot spoiler )So distracting. I keep wondering how I would have felt about the film, if I didn't know anything about Allen's personal life? There's something to be said about not breaking the fourth wall. Allen is not the first director/writer/actor I've pondered that question about nor will he be the last.
* There's a sly commentary on how poorly society handles mental illness.
( plot spoilers )See, hard to like, but also hard to forget.
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