“Blue Jasmine” is a drama, written and directed by Woody Allen and his latest film. It received critical acclaim and grossed almost $75 million at worldwide box office. A big part of film’s praise is given to Cate Blanchette who plays the title character, Jasmine Francis, a rich socialite from New York faced with losing her high life, money and place to live; her husband had hung himself in jail after being sentenced for financial fraud and her son-in-law ran away. And it is Jasmin whom I want to discuss in my analysis.
The movie sets the scene quickly. Having no other options, Jasmine arrives to San Francisco to live with her sister Ginger and her kids in a small apartment, located in the poor part of the city. Upon arrival, she instantly feels uncomfortable and insecure with both the surrounding and new people, like Chili, Ginger’s boyfriend, who works as auto mechanic. It is clear she has not shared any space with people, who are lower on the social ladder than her for a long time. She acts arrogantly and does not even try to wipe the slate clean, therefore beginning a conflict with her sister’s friends and especially Chili. "Ginger told me all about you. One minute you're on top of the world, the next, pfft. The guy turns out to be a crook,” (Aronson, Tenenbaum, Walson & Allen, 2013) exclaims Chili to Jasmine at the end of their first meeting, already tired of her utter hostility and malevolence.
Gradually it is shown that Jasmine is not only completely unable to normally communicate with down-to-earth people, it is revealed that she has never worked in her entire life, yet now has to provide for herself. She starts working as local dentist assistant, taking computer classes in the evenings to learn computer design. But after being harassed at work by the dentist, she decides to attend different parties to find a wealthy man to live by. Moreover, she continues drinking and taking pills to avoid nervous breakdowns during which she talks to herself, remembering her luxurious life with husband. All this shows that Jasmine is a weak-willed woman, who does not want to begin anew and prefers to somewhat return the past. It is clear hard life of learning on mistakes and growing a stronger personality is not her choice. For Jasmine, life limits marrying wealthy men and enjoying high life of private parties and big time money-spending. And she plagues her sister with same attitude, misleading her about choices and tastes in men: "You choose losers because that's what you think you deserve and that's why you'll never have a better life." (Aronson, Tenenbaum, Walson & Allen, 2013) Moreover, it is shown in flashbacks Jasmine ruined that better life for Ginger and her former husband by letting them fund a financial fraud of her deceased fiancé.
When Jasmine meets wealthy diplomat Dwight, she lies to him about her past. Blinded by her lies, he starts a relationship with Jasmine which very soon leads to planning of a house they will both share and then a proposal. But upon arriving to New York to choose the wedding ring, they encounter Ginger’s ex-husband who reveals the truth about Jasmine to Dwight. Confused, Dwight asks for an explanation, he and Jasmine have a fight, and he backs out of the proposal; Jasmine’s life is broken twice by the end of the film.
In the last scene, we see Jasmin sitting on the bench with wet hair talking to herself. She looks like a patient of an asylum. The last flashback shows Jasmine almost instantly gave up the truth about her husband’s frauds to government after finding out he had affairs with other women.
The film can raise a summarizing discussion on Jasmine between people, especially when the final truth is revealed. But in the end, I should say Jasmine is a weak-willed person, unable to take care of herself when things get rough while advising others how they should act. At a turning point in her life, she neglected thinking everything through and coming in terms with the situation to move, instead preferring to return her previous lifestyle quickly hypocritically and deceitfully. So, what goes around really comes around. And sometimes comes around too hard for you to handle.
References
Aronson, L. (Producer), Tenenbaum, S. (Producer), Walson, E. (Producer), & Allen, W. (Director). (2013). Blue Jasmine [Motion Picture].United States: Gravier Productions.
