My Blueberry Nights

Well, I saw it.

There, see?  This will either be my best review or my most completely useless, but I'll say what I can. I'm really glad that the whole point of doing this blog was to get my thoughts on films down without resorting to something as subjective and restrictive as giving it a rating, because this is not a film that you insult by doing something as churlish as "giving it marks out of 10". This film is like meeting someone, in my case a woman who is *exactly* my type, and spending a while talking to her. You don't come home later and think "Oh great girl, she's a 9" or "oh if only her nose were a bit different...". As I wanted to know so little about this as possible prior to seeing it I'll just talk about the acting and the filmmaking - I'll take them in order.

The film starts with the Jude Law section and is shot almost exclusively in a cafe that Jude runs. I think the editing in this section is its most spectacular, the cinematography, well, normal superlatives don't cover it - it's an aesthetic delight. Jude is doing a normal English accent (in this case a gentle Lancashire - "Eliz-ur-buth" ) and I adore Wong Kar-Wai for letting or asking him. It's a pet peeve of mine that in foreign films English characters are reduced to cockney and "posh" (which doesn't really exist) and it was a lovely touch. Jude is a talented actor, especially with a great director and I thought he was so natural here, he's very atmospheric in that he's got a natural chemistry with his surroundings (his scene later with Chan Marshall - Cat Power - is probably my favourite in the film for their body language which perfectly recalls that of former lovers and the certain level of intimacy that dictates).

After we leave the Jude section we get into the David/Rachel section. All I can say is "Arise once more, Lord David of Strathairn" - the man is just ... words fail me - spectacular/awe-inspiring/incredible* here (* = delete as applicable). I want to run the FYC campaign for this film because if they focus on David then an oscar nomination is totally do-able. His performance is like Hal Holbrook's in Into the Wild, but magnified immeasurably because he has so much more to and so many scenes which are absolutely killer. It's a monumental turn and about as good as supporting performances get. He's the goods, the bollocks, the absolute man and so is Wong for getting this performance out of him. Rachel on the other hand is, by the role's nature, very over the top and I was not enjoying her at all but her gigantic scene (calling it "big" doesn't do it justice ) more than makes up for that - the best thing about this is I've never seen Weisz anything like it so she's definitely in character.

After them we move on to Natalie Portman's section and she is a strange one. It's a very mannered performance but it's a "fun" one which will either annoy the hell out of you or delight you. For me it did a bit of both, I started off thinking "eck" but by the end I liked her. Norah is the glue that holds all of this together, Wong doesn't give her much to do as she has a passively written role but I do think it suits the story as the people she comes across reflect back on her character. There are a couple of moments where she seems strange or out of character but they happen early in the Jude section where she's pining and the very occasional moments of childish petulance are thankfully only random mis-steps, which is completely understandable as she's never acted before. That she can hold the screen with people like Jude and Natalie and not be completely blown off it (and add great moments to Strathairn's godly turn) speaks volumes to her natural talent and Wong's ability with actors.

This is a very self-referential film, like for example Bergman's penchant for naming characters Vergerus, Weisz is called Sue-Lynn, an obvious reference to the previous Wong character played by Maggie Cheung. What I think of this is that My Blueberry Nights it is to Wong Kar-Wai what Rhapsody in Blue was to George Gerswhin - there are little pieces of everything he's done (and in Gerwshin's case, everything he'd ever do) and it blends together so perfectly. Like Shostakovich's "D-S-C-H" motif (which represented his name in notes), there are thematic motifs which are Wong's soul and it just wouldn't be *him* or have any of his heart or appeal without them.

So if you like Wong's films then unless you're a complete philistine it's impossible not to like this film too. If you don't like Wong's films then this will represent the zenith of everything you dislike. Again, it's like a woman. If you naturally don't go for, say busty redheads, then you don't go for busty redheads, there's nothing you can do about it, you'll always prefer other types of women. This particular woman, My Blueberry Nights, is everything that defines my "type" and it was an experience spending time with her. If she's your type too then you cannot miss this and if you're not familiar with this kind of woman then she's a perfect place to discover if she is your type or not.