Synopsis: Oscar nominee Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain) and Grammy Award-winning singer Norah Jones star in this “ravishing triumph… [of] pure romantic sensibility” (Armond White, New York Press). Law plays a big-hearted owner of a small New York diner who tries to soothe Jones’ jilted heart with his blueberry pie. But only after going on a year-long cross-country odyessy does she realize love was right at her doorstep all along. Gorgeously filmed by award-winning director Wong Kar Wai (In The Mood For Love) and featuring Oscar winner Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) and Oscar nominees Natalie Portman (Closer, Garden State) and David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck), My Blueberry Nights is an optimistic ode to love and “one of the best movies of the year!” (Andrew Sarris, New York Observer).
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From acclaimed filmmaker Kar Wai Wong, the man behind ‘Chungking Express’ and ‘In the Mood for Love’, comes a pretty bland film about a lovelorn young woman (played by Norah Jones)(yes, THAT Norah Jones!) who decides to hit the road in the name of personal growth and life experience. On her journey, she encounters a drunk police officer who still pines for his ex and, later on, a gambler who needs to return home to ask her wealthy father for an injection of much-needed funds. All of this is cemented together by sequences featuring Jude Law, playing a New York City café owner.
Well, I found the film good, but totally unspectacular. The stylistic choices left me quizzical at times and the performances were uninspired. As well, the stories were relatively unconvincing – except for the initial one between Norah Jones and Jude Law, which I found somewhat endearing. Aside from this, it was decent but forgettable.
On the more interesting side of things, Norah Jones was surprisingly good in this. I expected her to weigh the whole affair down, being a non-actress, but she held her own fairly well. I mean, she won’t win any acting awards just yet, but she certainly impressed me more than her vacant, doe-eyed, caught-in-the-headlights concert performance did, way back when.
So, in the end, watching this film had a redeeming value: I might actually give this burgeoning actress a chance – even if I can’t be bothered with her musical persona.
thecriticaleye 