Customer Reviews

My Blueberry Nights [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My Blueberry Nights opens in New York within the comfy confines of a small café owned by an expatriate Englishman named Jeremy, Jude Law. While busy taking care of his numerous customers, he receives a phone call from a woman asking him if he remembered a man eating meatloaf, later it becomes evident that it was pork chops and not meatloaf, and soon a pretty, but disheveled woman, Elizabeth, played by Norah Jones, makes an appearance at the café and gives Jeremy a set of keys in case her ex-boyfriend comes back. Each night after that occurrence, Elizabeth returns to the café to see if the keys have been picked up and converse with Jeremy. The two strike up a quick friendship and eat the café's leftovers each night. Some things like cheesecake are completely gone each day, some things like chocolate mousse are mostly gone each day, and there is always an untouched blueberry pie because it is left unwanted. It is this pie that Elizabeth eats every night and after a few weeks, she heads on an impromptu road trip.

During her travels, Elizabeth meets a wide assortment of interesting characters. In Tennessee she meets Arnie Copeland, a kind-hearted, but alcoholic policeman who is a patron at both the diner and bar she works at. While drinking to soothe his broken heart, Arnie becomes friends with the much younger Elizabeth and she learns of his wife Sue Lynne who left him. Things seem moderately stable for Arnie, at least within the haze of alcohol, until, one night, when Sue Lynne comes into the bar with another man. After Tennessee, Elizabeth heads west to the land of gamblers where she meets a blonde, southern female gambler named Leslie, Natalie Portman, who loses everything in a match against a fellow with a large forehead sporting a repulsive Hawaiian shirt. Again, Elizabeth becomes friends with her fellow drifter and learns things about others and herself in the process.

Meanwhile, Jeremy, who has been receiving postcards without a return address from Elizabeth, back at the café, writes numerous postcards to Elizabeth, hoping that one of them will reach her, because his heart has opened to her in her absence.

A number of film viewers seemed to be against My Blueberry Nights while it was in the pre-production stage because it was Wong Kar Wai's first film using all non-Asian actors and actresses, as if the aesthetics and beauty found In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express could not be translated over from Asian actors to non-Asian actors. With Taiwanese directors Ang Lee and Hou Hsiao-hsien having done similar endeavors, it stands to reason that Wong would be successful also. While the accents of Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz are a bit overdone and the script does in fact sound like it is coming from a translation at points, the Wong Kar Wai sense of film aesthetic still strongly comes through with his wonderful selection of music, Cat Power's "The Greatest" plays a prominent role in the film, and its sense of loneliness and the beauty and sadness that can be found in loneliness when one is not only alone in body, but in an unfamiliar land. Some say that this is Wong Kar Wai's worst film, but with his worst being better than most, My Blueberry Nights is still a worthy film for the Wong Kar Wai canon, and should not be scoffed at by his "fans" because it stars non-Asian actors and actresses.

There is much in Wong Kar-Wai's first all English production to admire, but the cast, the dialogue, and the translation of Asian aesthetics unto accent-dimmed performances is so pronounced we have no option but to enjoy the movie solely for its artistic merit while lamenting its prosaic shortcomings. The usual antics and brilliance of the director are all deployed to a whimsical effectiveness, if sometimes deliberately indulged. The usual close-ups and askance visual is present frame after frame, with opaque intrusions, slantwise peering, obstructed lavishness, and aided by the diner/pub setting the movie is infused with neon latency. In fact the plot is simple and very bleak. Action hardly ever takes place during the day, save for the occasional interlude which seems to be a way to mark as pronounced the comparative glare that the night offers. At times we have the camera slide its intensity along a bar or a table, stolidly stuck on a fork pricking through a slice of pie, or meandering about the outskirts of a bar, column after column, shadows crawling senselessly through a disorderly tension that seems innocent enough to hide behind the crevices of our visual. Overall the very Asian aesthetic quality of the camerawork tellingly foreshadows a candor that has us become voyeurs more so than spectators. In Asian culture it is best not to invade one's private space and here it is carried out to such beauty that it offers a sense of indiscreet respect.
Where the movie falters however is in its casting, of which some are excellent artists used in a middling unfortunate fashion. Jude Law and Natalie Portman are sensational actors but oddly cast in the drama. Their intensity is unique but too forceful for the narrative introspective layover. The graceful Norah Jones is very mediocre. She has promise but the flick rests too much on her inner turmoil to be successful since she cannot be the keystone of the narrative in a way to match the intensity and bravado of her colleagues. The story is very simple. Elizabeth is stuck on her boyfriend whose just broken-up with her. She will have to labor through her incredulousness and inability to let go. The diner's owner, played by Jude Law offers her a shoulder and an ear while terribly straining the poetic attitude of the atmosphere by introducing a dialogue that metaphor driven closes the doors it chances to open. In fact while observing the action from behind window panes or timidly joining the session while tip-toeing about a door left ajar we discover a tenuous delicacy of touch that is as fragile as Norah Jones' performance.
David Strathairn, cast as Arnie, the alcoholic policeman who cannot let go of his wife, strikes a rapport of morbid proportions with Lizzie. While on a lovelorn escapade to Memphis, Lizzie nurses her loss and begins to recover, but in the process as she learns to give up, somehow that same sense of absence transfers to Arnie who is separated from a wife who wants nothing to do with him. The perfection of his character study and depth only highlights the misses of the others, including Arnie's estranged wife Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz). Arnie gives up on a night of madness and overglowing anger but determines to commit suicide. Enters Natalie Portman, a southern vixen with a penchant for gambling.
The neon-hued camerawork receives added sheen from a trip to Vegas on a brand new Jaguar, only to find out that the every win is also a loss. Ultimately that is the upshot of the narrative which is brightly demented by the braggadocio devil-may care sensibility of Leslie (Natalie Portman). The death of Leslie's father causes a reunion between Lizzie and the diner's proprietor Jeremy, who functions as the jar of sweets everyone is sure with due time Lizzie will find her way to. Time spent through glowing hues that distil an aura of hopeless references and tame performances that jarr all the more because uninspired while beset by the contrasting tenderness of the visual.
A movie worth watching, because of the addictive intensity provided by the camerawork of Darius Khondji, but the elegiac tone of a "Chungking Express" or "In the Mood for Love" is affected by the sobering vapidity of a plot that plays with the notion of loss and gain by using a maudlin dialogue and a cloyed, exhausted attempt at allegorizing by way of sappy, overburdened poetics.

Kar Wai Wong is as much a visual artist as a film director and his forté has always been making beautiful, multileveled images on a screen that is trying to see clearly the outlines of character development. Such is the case in his first English language film MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, a creation he wrote (with Lawrence Block) as well as directed. While the 'story' boasts a cast of fine actors, the emphasis seems less on character delineation than on creating a cinematic stream of consciousness.

A New York Russian bakery/café is operated by immigrant Jeremy (Jude Law) and into this milieu comes the newly jilted Elizabeth (Norah Jones - who also provides much of he sound track singing for the film). She leaves her boyfriend's keys with Jeremy as a sign of resignation but continues to nightly check to see if her ex-boyfriend has shown up to claim them. This is the premise for the formation of a bond between Jeremy and Elizabeth, but without solidifying that bond, Elizabeth runs off to greener pastures. She settles in Tennessee where she finds work as both a waitress and a bar maid and meets the down and out alcoholic policeman Arlo (David Strathairn) who pines away for his tacky, gallivanting wife Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz). Leaving that story piece unresolved, Elizabeth then moves to Las Vegas where she becomes friends with a young, loser gambler Leslie (Natalie Portman) who manages to waste Elizabeth's savings for a car on yet another misjudged gambling night. Through this cavalcade of losers Elizabeth continues to write postcards to Jeremy and the ending is blatantly predictable.

There are some moments of memorable dialog: 'Sometimes, even if you have the keys those doors still can't be opened. Can they? ' 'Even if the door is open, the person you're looking for may not be there'. But for the most part this is a visual feast for those who love Kar Wai Wong's genre. The plot is thin as is the dialogue and the actors work to make the most of the outlines of conversation that they embellish with their own spontaneous words. If it feels improvised to the viewer then the viewer has entered the realm of Kar Wai Wong. This is a film for art film lovers - it is very beautiful to watch! Grady Harp, July 08

I really wanted to like this movie. I remember when the buzz surrounding this movie started flooding in during the beginning of 2007 and everyone was predicting it for all kinds of awards beings that it was Kar Wai Wong's first English language film and the casting of singer songwriter Norah Jones in the lead role was particularly interesting. I waited patiently for the buzz to turn into full-fledged madness but it seemed as if no sooner did the buzz begin then the buzz died and before I knew it the film wasn't even being released for a wide release and I had to wait until it was available on DVD before I could see it. Regardless of the fact that it managed only one nomination (at Cannes mind you) I still really wanted to see this film, and so I did, and now that Cannes nomination baffles me, because `My Blueberry Nights' is very disappointing.

`My Blueberry Nights' gets off to a sour start. In fact for the first twenty minutes or so absolutely nothing happens. We see Elizabeth, a frantic stalker-type ex-girlfriend going in and out of a bakery where she continues to ask the owner Jeremy if he has seen the man she was last in there with and they eat some pie and she watches some surveillance videos and cries and she gives him her keys to give to her ex and then she picks up and leaves town. I know that sounds like a lot, but it's not when you watch it. It's slow moving and rather vapid.

In fact the whole movie feels rather vapid.

There are a lot of critics who talk about Kar Wai Wong's infatuation with lovesickness, but I really didn't gather that here. I saw glimpses of it, sure, but overall the feeling I was left with was more empty than fulfilled. Sadly this was the first Kar Wai Wong film I have seen (but I do have `In the Mood for Love' in my Netflix queue) and I am left a little confused as to why this director is so lauded. I will allow his other films to change my mind though.

The acting is decent for the most part, excels in some areas and falls flat in others. Norah Jones is beyond doubt a phenomenal singer and musician. Her music touches my soul. Her acting is uninspired and bland. There is a part in the film when Faison's character says quite frankly to Weisz's character that he doesn't know what her ex-husband ever saw in her. As he was speaking those words I was thinking the same thing, but about Jones's character, wondering how anyone could find her remotely interesting. Her eyes are dead and she embodies no real emotion. Jude Law is charming across the board; a little obnoxious in some areas but overall strong. David Strathairn is stronger still as the alcoholic police officer Arnie. His subtle outbursts within his own skin are far too good for the movie he inhabits. Rachel Weisz is probably the most entertaining thing about this movie in the way that Thandie Newton is the most entertaining thing about `Crash'; a little uneven but uneven to perfection. Natalie Portman is entertaining yet nothing impressive. Her performance is decent, but doesn't really add anything to her character.

I also found the incessant, repetitive use of Norah Jones's music throughout the beginning portion of the film to be rather unnecessary and annoying.

By the time the film was wrapping up I was wondering what it was all about, what the whole purpose of this exercise was. Sure, Elizabeth was supposed to find herself out on the road with all these people she doesn't understand and eventually realize that Jeremy is the one she wants to be with, but that point could have been delivered a little clearer and a little more interestingly. I just found `My Blueberry Nights' to be a waste of talent and concept and apparently director, unless all of his films are like this and I'm just not intelligent enough to `get' them.

This movie has a great cast. David Strathairn is superb as the Memphis cop with the runaway wife, and Rachel Weisz is also fantastic. Actually, I think Norah Jones is really good, in a piece of inspired casting and a natural performance. Her character is the touchstone of the movie. The part of the movie from her arrival in Memphis, the bar with Strathairn and Weisz and other characters...really riveting.

The rest of the movie doesn't quite live up to that part, though. Jude Law is pretty good, kind of playing himself, but those scenes are a little too cute. Natalie Portman shows her increasing versatility as an actress and there are some very warm and compelling scenes during that part, but it didn't quite come together.

The whole movie has an improvisational feel to it that is alternately very exciting and unpredictable, and then kind of missing and a little dumb. However, good cinematography and acting more or less carry it through. I'm a fan of Norah Jones' music but didn't expect her to be that great in this movie. I was surprised that she was actually pretty good. I think she should do another movie at some point, maybe with this director - not just any director. Music is good, too, particularly the Cassandra Wilson Harvest Moon performance.

All in all, worth seeing, in a sort of experimental way. Kind of reminded me at times of Paris, Texas.

My Blueberry Nights (drama, romance)
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai
Starring Jude Law, Norah Jones, David Strathairn, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz

Optimum Home Entertainment | 2008 | 95 min | Rated BBFC: 12 | Released Jun 23, 2008

Video:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles:
English

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 4/5

The first thing to mention is that My Blueberry Nights is not yet available on Blu-ray in North America. This review refers to the Region B UK disc.

In the opening scene, we are introduced to Jeremy (Law), who runs a diner in New York. He's originally from Manchester, England, but seems at home in his surroundings. He knows people by what they eat. Elizabeth (Jones) is a customer who is asking whether her boyfriend has been in the diner. Jeremy confirms that he was there and had dinner with another woman.

The two begin to talk on a regular basis. Elizabeth leaves her keys at the diner so that Jeremy can give them to her boyfriend. He listens to everything she says and is part friend, part psychiatrist and part restaurant owner. The two share a bond of sorts and he also reveals details of his own previous relationships. He keeps her keys in a jar with countless others and Elizabeth learns that he knows the story behind each set.

Jeremy also talks to her about food, explaining what sells well and what doesn't. He offers her blueberry pie and ice cream and mentions that the blueberry pie is often untouched at the end of the day. There's nothing wrong with it, but people just make other choices. I think Wong Kar-Wai is comparing people to food with that observation. There's nothing wrong with Elizabeth or Jeremy, but both are alone.

The camera on the diner wall serves as Jeremy's diary. He likes to watch the recordings at the end of the day to see what he's missed. Wong Kar-Wai's camera doesn't miss anything. When Jeremy and Elizabeth are talking, we see them from afar. There's often a counter or something in the way of the camera so that we feel like voyeurs, spying on an intimate conversation. Other notable techniques include the use of vivid colors and the blurring of motion, as well as slow motion and images which are sped up. Wong Kar-Wai uses the same techniques in other films such as Chungking Express and Fallen Angels.

Without declaring anything, it becomes obvious that Jeremy and Elizabeth care about each other. But Elizabeth seems wary of relationships after her recent experiences and decides to take some time to think about what she really wants. She works in various bars and diners and eventually winds up in Memphis. It's there that she meets Arnie (Strathairn), who drinks in her bar. She listens to Arnie, talks about her dreams and gives him advice. I like Strathairn's performance and consider him one of the most interesting characters in the film. Is it a coincidence that Elizabeth becomes someone who will listen to people's problems, just as Jeremy did with her?

Elizabeth writes to Jeremy regularly, but never reveals her address or phone number. He misses her and tries randomly calling bars and diners to find her. Later, he decides to send postcards, and ends up sending hundreds.

Elizabeth rarely stays in one place for long and has a series of adventures. The most prominent one happens when she encounters Leslie (Portman), who plays poker for high stakes. Elizabeth learns more about herself as the film progresses, especially from Leslie.

Will Elizabeth and Jeremy ever meet again? I won't reveal that here.

Norah Jones did a great job on her acting debut. The story is stylish, intimate and a little unconventional. If you like other Wong Kar-Wai films, you'll almost certainly like this. Ry Cooder's score is incredible and perfectly matches the mood. There are some other well-placed songs, especially the two haunting numbers from Cat Power. If you're a fan of Cat Power, look out for a cameo appearance by Chan Marshall.

Video Quality 4.5/5
Optimum's Blu-ray presentation looks great. The stylized color scheme is striking and the detail strong. There are no obvious problems such as dirt or print damage. The film looks clean and almost perfect. Any blurring is purely intentional and a regular occurrence in Wong Kar-Wai's films.

Audio Quality 4.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track delivered everything I hoped for. Although the film is primarily a dialogue-heavy story, the use of music enhances the atmosphere. Cooder's guitar is wonderful and the other songs all come across well. You won't have to strain to hear any of the dialogue and I couldn't detect any faults in the mix.

Special Features 3/5

10,279 Miles Since Hong Kong: My Blueberry Nights - A good "making of" feature with cast and crew.

Cannes Press Conference - Director Wong Kar-Wai and actress Norah Jones face the Cannes media.

Character Study - A short piece featuring comments from cast and crew.

Theatrical Trailer

My Blueberry Nights will appeal to lovers of film for its interesting use of color and unusual camera angles. It's a romance of a sort, but less conventional than most. Some of the discussions will stay with you if you're the sort of person who analyzes what you have just seen. Fans of Wong Kar-Wai shouldn't hesitate. If this is your first Wong Kar-Wai film and you liked it, Chungking Express is well worth checking out. I consider it his masterpiece.

Overall score 4/5

Even though I have Wong Kar-Wai's biggest, and most notable, films on my DVD shelves thanks to the Criterion Collection--I must admit that "My Blueberry Nights" escaped my notice upon its release. It's particularly strange considering the top line talent of Jude Law, Natalie Portman, David Strathairn, and Rachel Wiesz (any one of which, on their own, might have been a draw for me) headlining the cast. "My Blueberry Nights," as you might have surmised by the actors, is an English language film that utilizes many of the trademark elements of Wong Kar-Wai's previous efforts. The film's quiet introspection and melancholia are offset by a certain voyeuristic allure brought about in the cinematography. It's a lovely film to look at--but the narrative seems a bit slight at the end of the day.

With all the great talent in the cast, it's an unusual choice to put singer Norah Jones in the lead. The film brings Jones and Law together in a New York eatery as Jones is reeling from a broken relationship. The two meet regularly and become friends and speak philosophically about pie amongst other metaphorical topics. Before you can say "See ya...," Jones is off to Memphis where she befriends a drunken police officer (Strathairn) tragically coping with the disintegration of his marriage to Weisz. When this concludes, Jones heads further west to meet up with itinerant gambler Portman for some additional life lessons. Each of the stops provides some nice moments--Weisz is particularly lively--but by the time Jones is headed back to the Big Apple, I'm not sure any larger meaning stuck with me.

In and of itself, I might have been fine with that as well. I suppose my primary lack of interest in "My Blueberry Nights" comes from the casting of Norah Jones herself. Jones is strangely expressionless and monotone and, yet, every major character in the film is drawn to her. I would rather have spent more time with anyone else in this film! Law is great, Strathairn is reliable, Portman is appealing, and Weisz is colorful. Unfortunately, they all circle around a rather empty center. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from seeing "My Blueberry Nights," it just didn't add up to much for me. It was pleasant in the moment, but I won't remember it a month from now. KGHarris, 12/10.

The main feature of this film are the characters themselves - the plot almost feels secondary. With good writing and acting, the characters are all engaging and three-dimensional, enough to make you care about them. Norah Jones - a wonderful singer - is very good in her first acting role here, portraying Elizabeth, the lead. Elizabeth discovers at a corner cafe in New York City that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. She leaves his keys there and returns several times afterward to see if he came back for them. Each time, she gets to know Jeremy (Jude Law), the cafe owner, more and more. Jeremy waxes philosophically over the many keys people have left there and the blueberry pie which is almost always left over at the end of the night.

Clearly something begins to develop between Elizabeth and Jeremy; however, she is still working on getting over her ex-boyfriend. She moves across the country to Memphis, Tennessee where she goes by Lizzy. Trying to save money for a car and unable to sleep well, she gets two jobs - working at a diner during the day and a bar at night. At the bar she meets Arnie (David Strathairn), a policeman who is an alcoholic and cannot accept that he's separated from his wife. It's easy to feel sorry for Arnie, although it's clear he is flawed. Likewise, just when you might get to dislike his wife (Rachel Weisz), you learn to empathize with her situation too.

While Jeremy tries all he can to reach Elizabeth in Memphis by mail or phone, she moves on to Nevada. Here she goes by Beth and gets a job at a small casino. She gets to know Leslie (Natalie Portman), a poker player who has lost all her money. Leslie convinces Beth to lend her all her car savings; if she wins, she'll share the winnings with Beth and if she loses, then she'll give Beth her new car. When she loses, Leslie says she can have the car but she needs a ride to Las Vegas to see her estranged father and borrow money. Along the road trip, the two get to know each other more. Again, Leslie has issues such as her inability to trust anyone, but there's still some good in her too.

I enjoyed the characters and the story very much. My one criticism of the movie is the director's use of slow-motion. I felt it was unnecessary for the most part and he used it far too often toward the beginning of the movie. Otherwise, the movie was rather enjoyable. It included some wonderful music and nice cinematography. There was some humor, but for the most part it was a drama with some elements of romance.

This was a small movie that wasn't advertised very much. I didn't hear about it until after it was in theaters, but was immediately interested, because I had always liked Norah Jones' music. The movie surprised me. It's beautifully shot (the coloring of the film is breathtaking), and all of the characters are interesting people who's lives you get a small glimpse into. The story, which is about Lizzie (Jones), who goes on an adventure after she realizes that her boyfriend is cheating on her, and realizes what she left behind is really what she truly loves. It's heart-warming, and even if it's not exactly an academy-award winner, I encourage anyone to give it a try. It's a beautiful movie that only some people will be able to see as true art.

This is not the 111 minute cut as advertised, this is the conventional cut, better off buying the region 1 version.