My Blueberry Nights by Wong Kar Wai (2007)
3 March 2008I have been so excited to see Wong Kar Wai’s American Feature Debut, and have to say I was a bit disappointed. While this film is ostensibly a single film, it feels more like 3 films stuck together with an actress without the chops to make it one film. In fact Nora Jones acting, while it improved through the film, was just not nearly up to snuff with the other actors. And in fact the other ancillary actors are all amazing.Wong Kar Wai got out his past amazing level of performance with the great actors. Jude Law, David Stratharin, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz have never been better, and the only problem is that Nora Jones is just kind of their as the audience, much like Charlie Sheen’s character was like in PLATOON. She acts as the audience, and just doesn’t match with these other amazing performances. In fact for the first time I really noticed the transitions to Wong Kar Wai’s ubiquitous Frame Step Technique, which I normally love, but here at times it felt jarring. That is not to say I hated this film, I enjoyed it, and the supporting actors were fantastic, but still it felt more like Wiong Kar Wai light, and is one of my least favorite Wong Kar Wai films (not saying too much since he is my favorite director).
The film starts with the British owner of a cafe in New York named Jeremy (Jude Law) has a run in with a customer named Elizabeth (Norah Jones) who is trying to find out if her ex is cheating on her, and of course he is. Jeremy keeps keys for people with Ex’s, so they don’t have to think about them, and he takes Elizabeth’s keys. Elizabeth eats blueberry pie with him, and he starts to like her. She then returns to get her keys back, but instead gets the story of all the keys, including his key about a missing Russian girl. When she leaves she gets mugged, and he gets hit by customers fighting. And finally Elizabeth leaves, and leaves Jeremy period, leaving for Memphis, Tennessee to forget her boyfriend.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
In Memphis Elizabeth takes two jobs, one working at a bar where she deals with a man named Arnie (David Stratharin) is a horrible alcoholic, and who acts like he is wanting to quit, but he does that every night. At her day job in a diner she meets Arnie and finds out he is a cop, and he tips her well to help her get the car she wants to buy. One night at the bar Arnie’s wife Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz) shows up with a new guy, and Arnie freaks out, and wants to see her, and another night when he sees the guy he attacks her. Arnie keeps talking a bit to Elizabeth and even talking to her, and trying to write to his wife. Finally he confronts Sue Lynne, who will have nothing to do with him, and that night Arnie takes off and dies in a car wreck. Sue Lynne then shows up, starts drinking again, gets wasted and goes out and sits by where Arnie died, which is just where they met. She had blown off Elizabeth who was trying to get her to pay Arnie’s bill, but instead talks to her about her being trapped by her husband. Then at Elizabeth’s day job, Sue Lynne comes in and gives Elizabeth the money to pay Arnie’s bill, and has finally changed.
The whole time Elizabeth was writing too Jeremy, but she never gave a return address, and he tried to find her, calling all the bars in Memphis.
We then cut to Elizabeth working in Nevada, and she lends her money to a gambler named Leslie (Natalie Portman) who lost everything at a table, and says she will give Elizabeth her new Jaguar if she loses the money and she does. Leslie then gets Elizabeth to drive her to Vegas to get money from someone she knows, but won’t answer her constantly ringing phone, and finally Elizabeth finds that Leslie’s father is in the hospital. Leslie won’t go in, but Elizabeth does and finds that Leslie’s father has died. Leslie doesn’t believe, but she goes in and realizes the truth, and then won’t give the car, because it was her fathers, but instead pays Elizabeth the money because she in fact did win.
Finally Elizabeth returns to Jeremy in New York, and is finally ready to be with him, after a year away, running from her past. And we find the night she left, she was so drunk, and finally Jeremy did kiss her, and that is why he was looking for her constantly since then.
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As I said a pretty good looking movie, with great supporting performances, but the main character does drag the film down a bit.
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