My Blueberry Nights
Jul 9th, 2008 | By Rick | Category: Reviews, Wong Kar Wai
OK, let’s get the obvious out of the way: Norah Jones can’t act. She is beautiful, and she can sing like an angel, but she can’t act. She’s inexpressive, a blank canvas, a tabula rasa. And when she is called upon to emote, she’s too obvious, like a kid who’s been told to register a certain emotion, and does so cartoonishly, one-dimensionally. Because of this, Wong Kar Wai’s My Blueberry Nights lacks a strong center, an anchoring personality that ties together its episodic plot.
And you know what? I don’t care. I really don’t . . . I love My Blueberry Nights anyway. Sure, it’s not a perfect film, but it’s got heart (I know, I know . . . what a cliché!), and a cast of very good actors who orbit around Jones like jittery satellites (more about this later). It’s one of those flicks where you overlook its flaws, because all of what you like about a filmmaker — good or bad — are on flagrant display.
First of all, it’s one of the most drop-dead gorgeous films I’ve ever seen. Wong, cinematographer Darius Khondji and production designer William Chang have created a confectionary world of saturated color. Although filmed in New York, Memphis, and Los Vegas, each location is really Wong-World, a place out of time we’ve grown to know, particularly in his last few films.
As usual, a Wong Kar Wai film resurrects the old arguments of style versus substance, and as usual I go catatonic at the very thought. I don’t think there’s much debate that Wong is a master of his medium, of the things that make a film a film, and not a novel or a play. No matter what Hollywood would have us believe — or maybe some screenwriting guru or something — story is not the defining characteristic of film. I would argue that what we have here is as close to a pure display of the medium as is likely to see even limited release in this country.
All of Wong’s stylistic ticks are in full cry — the lyrical slow motion, his obsession with trains, and the peripatetic editing style — credited, again, to William Chang — that flirts briefly with convention, then throws it out with cheerful abandon. All of these combine with the film’s look to create a mesmerizing experience, one that makes up — in my opinion, anyway — for it’s slight content.
But My Blueberry Nighrs is not entirely without content, and one way to read it is to view Jones’ character Elizabeth as a witness to the messy lives that surround her. After stumbling into the cafe of Jeremy (Jude Law), and discovering that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she embarks upon a cross-country journey. In Memphis, she works in a cafe by day and a seedy bar by night, where she observes the final disintegration of a cop named Arnie (David Strathairn), who mirrors the night and day aspects of her job. At night, he’s a maudlin drunk, mourning the loss of his wife (Rachel Weisz).
When Elizabeth moves on, this time to Las Vegas, she again falls in with a person on the edge, this time compulsive gambler Leslie (Natalie Portman). But instead of witnessing her dissolution, it is her salvation that she sees. And if that were all, if Elizabeth were only a passive witness, Jones’ inexpressive performance might have been adequate. But Elizabeth becomes involved in the situations, as a sounding board for Arnie and a facilitator for Leslie’s redemption. And alas, that’s where Jones’ acting chops are inadequate to the task. We are not really convinced that Elizabeth has enough empathy and, indeed, brains to be the facilitator for these broken souls.
Wong has surrounded her by top talent — Law does his ingratiating best, playing with ease a man that guys want to hang out with and women want to take to their beds and nurture. There’s never a false note in Strathairn’s performance, both as the buttoned-down cop by day, and disintegrating wreck by night. Weisz manages to act through an atrocious Southern accent and Portman’s role is well-suited to her limited range.
With all the Hollywood dreck out there — and for me, this has been a barren year so far — the care and stylistic vision with which My Blueberry Nights has been made is a breath of fresh air. Sure, it’s got its problems, but I would much rather see a filmmaker going for it and coming up short of the mark than yet another bad remake of Pulp Fiction or Notting Hill. I dunno . . . maybe it’s just me.
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Personally, I could not get enough of this film, it is one of the best films I have seen all year to be honest.
Nick, I couldn’t agree with you more. It is breathtakingly lovely and full of that strange, romantic melancholy that Wong does better than anybody else.
I really liked it, though your opening point is sadly true.
Cine, Jones was the major flaw in the ointment. Why Wong cast her I’ll never know, except maybe he wanted the tabula rasa for others to play off. Note he cast another musician in a much smaller role, Cat Power (AKA Chan Marshall) as Jeremy’s ex.
Still and all, I do love the film, warts and all.
Hooray - another one for our team! We’ll beat that MovieZeal critic yet!
Totally kidding, Evan, do NOT back down from your less-than-stellar impression of MBN, as you’ve justified it quite eloquently.
I think you and I are closer than I and some others, Rick. I didn’t get a whole lot out of the story but I was simply mesmerized to the point where I didn’t care.
Also, assuming you didn’t get this at a discount theater, it’s nice to hear the visuals hold up on DVD.
Take that Evan!
Actually, Daniel, I was mesmerized, and discount theaters in Alabama don’t play art-house movies, they play second runs of “Big Momma’s House”. Actually, I watched it on my laptop laying in a motel bed in Black Mountain, North Carolina, where even now I write this comment.
The good news is it even holds up on a computer screen!! I can’t wait to get home and see what it looks like on my 50″ Sony widescreen.
I’ll join the chorus of fans for Wong’s latest! Went to see this half-heartedly (due to critics word of mouth which usually spews platitudes on Wong’s films) and came away completely in love with it. Straithern deserves a supporting actor nom.
You know, I heard decidedly mixed to poor reviews of this. It premiered at Cannes in a significantly longer version, and rumors abound over the meddling those evil Weinstein Brothers did.
In an interview that was on the DVD, Wong said that he used singers in the roles because of their rhythm, or something like that. I only watched the first 10 minutes or so of the interview.
Nice review. Loved the film, we’re WKW fans too…
Well, Cine, that would explain it, sort of … though for the life of me, I can’t really say what he means by that.
1Minute — ya gotta love him, all right … thanks for the comment!
I can’t wait to one day have a 50″ wide screen.
Maybe she does have a bit of a limited range, but I love Natalie Portman so much. I’m getting this in the mail on Monday.