"My Blueberry Nights" *** (out of ****)There's something about a film where a character heads out on the road in an attempt to find themself that appeals to me. I love self-discovery road movies whether it is Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries", Anthony Asquith's "The Browning Version" or Denise Hopper's "Easy Rider". We all have to try and make sense of this crazy world and sometimes we just need lots and lots of time by ourselves to figure it out.
Kar-Wai Wong's English language debut film, "My Blueberry Nights" isn't quite as good as the mentioned films but it follows in their spirit, especially "Easy Rider".
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (where it was nominated for the palme d'or) back in 2007 where it was universally slammed. Since that time Wong cut the film by 20 minutes. I never saw the original version so unfortunately I cannot tell you if the changes were needed and/or what impact the cuts make.
As "My Blueberry Nights" stands as is, it is a nice slice-of-life film. Norah Jones makes her film debut playing Elizabeth. A New Yorker with a broken heart who finds comfort talking to the owner of a diner, Jeremy (Jude Law) who informs her of her ex's cheating, when the two eat at his diner.
Jeremy and Elizabeth don't spend much time together but a connection grows quickly. At first we think the film will be about them falling in love as Elizabeth recovers from her recent lost. But instead Elizabeth settles for the blueberry pies Jeremy makes before heading off on the road.
Elizabeth goes to Memphis and Nevada where she finds odd jobs as she meets a strange group of characters. All who have lost something important in their life because of failed relationships.
In Memphis, where Elizabeth works as a waitress in the morning and a bartender at night, she meets Arnie (David Strathairn) a cop with a drinking problem and himself brokenhearted as he and his wife, Sue Lynn (Rachel Weisz) have separated. Arnie can't get himself to accept these recent developments as he sees Sue with a new guy. In the meantime, Arnie seems to enjoy Elizabeth's company. Elizabeth seems to be the only person whose company Arnie enjoys.
While in Nevada, working in a casino, she meets Leslie (Natalie Portman) a poker player who has just lost a fortune. The two girls start talking as Elizabeth casually reveals the amount of her life savings, which, wouldn't you know it, is exactly the amount Leslie needs to get back in the poker game as she promises not only to give Elizabeth back her original amount but also a third of her winnings. And if she should lose, she promises to sell Elizabeth her brand new car.
"My Blueberry Nights", like Kar-Wai's other films, including two recent masterpieces "In the Mood for Love" and "2046" as well as "Happy Together" is a story about love's missed connections. About people who just don't see what is in front of them. It is about failed people and failed relationships. Whether is it between a husband and wife, Arnie and Sue, a daughter and father, Leslie and her never seen father, who taught her how to play poker, who may or may not be dying or between Elizabeth and her ex-boyfriend.
Lots of American critics didn't like this film, but, I found their reasons unfair. Whenever a foreign director makes a English language film, critics always like to say there is a language problem which the director couldn't overcome. Don't believe me? Here's what Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips had to say about this film. "The film may be set in America, and shot in America, and co-written with Wong by Lawrence Block. But its creamy abstractions, both visual and verbal, become a perceptual blur." Not convincing enough for you? Okay, try Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News. "Everything is slightly off, perhaps in part because this is Wong's first feature film in English." And A.O. Scott of the New York Times writes how the America presented in this film is one we will not recognize.
These complaints I feel miss the point. "My Blueberry Nights" is a film about moods and emotions not so much about plot. The film's beauty comes in the cinematography, which was by Darius Khondji, who shot Bernardo Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty", Woody Allen's "Anything Else" and Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate".
Critics who complain the film doesn't show America correctly or believably are kidding themselves. This is not a valid point. This story could take place anywhere. So why did Kar-Wai chose America. He says after meeting Norah Jones he wanted to make a movie with her. In "Filmmaker Magazine" Kar-Wai says "she has a very interesting face and a very interesting personality. She has so many variations."
"My Blueberry Nights" is not a perfect film. I felt it didn't examine Elizabeth enough. But like any desert or blueberry pie, it has a sweetness to it which may not be filling, but is at the very least enjoyable at that moment.
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