My Blueberry Nights

Review By: Brian DePasquale
BrianDePasquale @TheCinemaSource.com

My Blueberry Nights is Hong Kong critical darling Wong Kar Wai’s first English-language feature and while his masterstroke as a stylist maintains its razor sharp edge, his gift for storytelling feels lost in translation. The usual themes of loneliness and despair typically found in his films are still evident, sometimes treated with the same degree of expertise, but expressed with less conviction and organized with less fluidity. Most Kar Wai films blend ecstasy with tragedy in their own characteristic rhythm. His latest work is only brilliant in slices.

The story is based off one of Kar Wai’s short films about Jeremy, a lonely diner employee who falls in love with Elizabeth, another jaded romantic. This time, the director enlists pretty boy Jude Law and singer/songwriter (and first time actress) Norah Jones to take charge of the leading roles. After several late night visits over blueberry pie and conversations about lost love, Elizabeth embarks on a cross-country journey to find meaning in her life. Along the way, she meets other lost romantic souls including an alcoholic police officer (David Strathairn), his ex-wife (Rachel Weisz), and a high-risk gambler (Natalie Portman). She reports back to Jeremy through letters about the lessons she is learning.

The results feel more calculated then they should and casting is the root cause. The film is doomed in the first act by a sub par performance by Jones. In an interview discussing his controversial decision to cast a singer in the leading role, Kar Wai explains his reasoning by pointing out that all performers have exceptional personalities containing an emotional rhythm not found in most people. The director’s instinct is admirable, but partially flawed. Yes, a singer can have an interesting face and a knack for rhythm, but what about the other crucial performance intangibles? Performers who are musically inclined have an understanding of their audience, but what about the people surrounding them on screen? What about the important role of social interaction? Dialogue?

The film suffers in the first act because all eyes are on Jones and her screen chemistry with Jude Law. Their scenes together are awkward and misguided, void of any romance or passion. When Law goes to kiss crumbs off her lips while she is sleeping, the results are more creepy than whimsical. Their interactions have a nervous edge of discomfort that never leaves the screen. Their interactions through letters come off as flat and clichéd.

As a performer on the screen, Jones functions stronger when acting as the observer, not the observed. When the film shifts focus in the second act on new characters she meets on the road, her performance works because she emotes less. The movie is partially saved from disaster by a brilliant performance by David Strathairn. He ...