The other movie I saw over the weekend was one I really looking forward to, My Blueberry Nights.
This is a film by Wong Kar-Wai, and while I probably should have seen all of his films by now (after all the guy is considered to be a genius) the only thing he had done that I had previously seen was The Follow, one of the short films BMW produced about five years ago.
Now here’s the thing, that short BMW film he made? Probably the best short film I’ve ever seen. Seriously. The BMW Films were each done by a different director and all starred Clive Owen as The Hire, a guy you hire to drive anything anywhere. They were all pretty cool little movies, but The Follow, oh that one was different. After I had watched it I felt as though I’d seen an entire feature length film in about six or seven minutes. You can check it out for yourself here.
So now years down the line Wong Kar-Wai has his first English language movie out, My Blueberry Nights. I remember reading that it received an underwhelming reaction at the Cannes Film Festival. None the less, the trailer looked interesting. It showed lots of neon, pies, diners, late nights, all among my favorite things.
When it opened in South Florida this weekend I was pretty excited about it. That didn’t last long.
My Blueberry Nights is the story of Elizabeth (Norah Jones), a gal who after a rough time with her boyfriend finds herself spending her late nights at diner, eating pie and sharing stories with the guy behind the counter, Jeremy (Jude Law).
After deciding that she can’t move on, despite the blueberry pie being very tasty, she sets out to find herself. Or something. Act two takes place in Nashville (I think) where our gal pal Elizabeth is working in a bar and getting involved with a drunk (David Strathairn) who’s having a serious time accepting his seperation from Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz).
Act three has something to do with Elizabeth and a card sharp (Natalie Portman) and some cards and a car and a father who may or may not be dead.
Basically it breaks down like this. The early part of the film with Jones and Law spending time in the diner is the best part of the film. It’s interesting and they’re both likeable. Once she leaves town the films jumps the tracks, and not in a really awful you can’t look away sort of way. It jumps them in a it’s so dull I think I fell asleep kind of way. Probably the worst kind of way, if you ask me.
Jones is a singer, and while I do admit she was likeable in the opening, it’s quite clear acting is not her first impression. She does the close up very nicely, but seems to fade into nothing anytime there is a long shot. All of the other acting vets at least fill the frame up with good screen presence.
So thumbs down the movie as a whole. It’s boring and uninteresting.
But thumbs up to the neon. And the pie.
