Saturday, March 6, 2010

Movie Review #2: My Blueberry Nights

The moment I heard that Wong Kar Wai was making a movie staring singer Norah Jones alongside actors like Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz there was no doubt in my mind this was a movie for me. I am a big fan of one of WKW's earlier films "In The Mood For Love" and have been wanting to see others but haven't had the opportunity until now. Norah Jones is one of my favorite singers and I was hoping for a performance as powerful as Bjork, another singer acting in her first film, in "Dancer in the Dark". While she did not come remotely close to that level I will say that Ms. Jones did a fantastic job and I came away from the film satisfied.

Elizabeth, as portrayed by Jones, is a young woman who has just suffered heartbreak in the form of a cheating lover. She meets Jeremy, a British import who runs a cafe in New York, played with all of Jude Law's not inconsiderable charm. The bond over blueberry pie and broken hearts but Elizabeth is not ready to move on with her life just yet. She has a lot to learn about herself and she can't do that eating blueberry pie in New York. She travels the country working in diners and bars and encountering a variety of people, all of them broken in one way or another. Through sharing their stories Elizabeth learns a little about herself and so do we.

To me, film has always been an art form. Yes, it is entertainment but that is not unusual in other genre's of art. Literature for example, has a wide variety of forms from the more accessible popular novels to poetry which appeals to a more narrow audience. Most films are more like novels, this film has more in common with poetry. If you're looking for a dynamic plot, driven by intense conflict or if you want action, My Blueberry Nights will put you to sleep. If, on the other hand, you enjoy a well crafted story that is about nothing more than one part of a character's journey, where the lessons she learns aren't exactly spelled out for you but require a bit of attention, then I would highly recommend that you watch "My Blueberry Nights".

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