Blue Jasmine is he latest Woody Allen and with Cate Blanchette in a potentially best actress award winning role as broken woman Sleepcar named Desire echoes character of Blanche Dubois with the storyline when she arrives at the apartment of estranged sister giving the impression of coming to stay for a prolonged period of time , after she has lost the family home and given leave of absence from her job because of nerves.
In this instance in a series of flashbacks we learn that the character played by Cate has lost everything after she has blown the whistle on her husband fraudulent investment businessmen he announces he is leaving her for another younger woman after she has turned a blind eye to his infidelities throughout their married life, settling for being a New York socialite holding and attending dinner parties, given jewellery and fashion clothing, living in a wealthy house with also an expensive coast holiday home. As a consequence of her actions the husband is arrested in the street and goes to prison where he commits suicide. She loses everything except for the cash from jeweller she managed to hide from the authorities and his soon runs out and her 20 year old son leaves Harvard humiliated and disappears wanting to have nothing to do with her for what she had done as much as anger with his father.
In this instance the sister is not a blood relation with both having been adopted by the same couple and while Cate was the bright one leaving university to marry her husband, the sister has struggled married to self employed removal man. When they win $20000 in the lottery they come to New York for a week expecting to be entertained by the sister who looks don on both while they hope the husband would advise on how to set up in the construction of homes business. Instead they are persuaded to invest all the money with a 20% return which vanished when the fraud is exposed. The couple split up and when Cate arrives her sister is engaged to a normal grease monkey mechanic who would have moved in with the sister and her two boys if Cate has not descended. She had turned to her sister after going to pieces and found wondering the streets talking to herself. There is a sense of years passing between he events in this film
After turning up her nose at the flat and lifestyle of her sister she drives a wedge between her and the boyfriend proclaiming the girl could do better. Cate has the wish to complete her degree but without the finance wants to take a course in home designing on line which necessitates taking a course first on computing with which she struggles. However a class mate invites her to a “high class” party where she meets a career diplomat based in Vienna with political ambitions and who has bought a great house in the area in which to settle with a suitable wife and seeks to employ Cate who has spun a line about her circumstances, no children and a widow, Interior decorator. At first we think he is another similar personality to that of her dead husband but in fact he is horrified and refuses to have anything more to do with her when going to purchase the ring, she meets the former husband of her sister who in anger at his lot spills the beans about her truth. She is back to square, although in fact her predicament has worsened. She had persuaded the sister to attend the same party and the sister had commenced what proved to be an affair with a married man who designed audio systems. The have great sex and she pushes away the boyfriend who is extremely angry and upset about her behaviour blaming on the sister.
After discovering thee man is married and his wife has found out the sister quickly manages to re-establish her self with the boyfriend who move sin. Cate is angered and frustrated by her situation and following exchanges storms out saying she will arrange for her luggage to be collected. She has burned her boats having discovered her son is married, living and working in the area he rejects her approach.
The film ends as she is sitting on a bench talking to herself, something which she had done from time. She had walked out of her job as a dental receptionist after he jumps her and therefore she is now homeless again and without work. But although this looks the end of her road she has choice, to sink further into a psychotic world of the past, or quickly learn how to survive. The decision is yours.
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