Blue Jasmine
Release date: July 26 Oscar prospects: Decent Welcome to Woody Allen's House of Wonders. What will be behind this year's door? A classic Woody comedy? A serious minded drama? A light-hearted mix between the two? An exceptional return to form? Or a miss fire retread? This opening, besides being excessively twee, serves to illustrate the gamut in both tone and range the legendary filmmaker has given us over the years. At the age of 78 and a prolific work rate that has seen the director release at least one film annually since 1982, the director can hardly be blamed for not maintaining a perfectly consistent quality level in his output, but the variation in the reception of his films does present a yearly challenge for Oscar punditry. This year though I feel cautiously optimistic about Mr. Allen's newest release, Blue Jasmine. Taking inspiration from the financial scandals of Wall Street mega-fraud Bernie Madoff, the film stars Cate Blanchett as the eponymous Jasmine, the wife to the Madoff-esque Alec Baldwin. When the crap hits the fan and Baldwin is exposed as the con he is, Jasmine loses her luxurious life style and is forced to move in with her sister (Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco where she meets a whole new cast of characters. The early buzz on the film has been good, with some comparing it to Allen's films that successfully intermixed both comedy and drama, such as Crimes and Misdemeanors. "Early buzz" can often be misleading, but the trailer appears to back up these early appraisals as well. In terms of the Oscars, the obvious thing to watch for is a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, considering that Woody Allen has won an impressive (to everyone but Woody) three Oscars as a writer and has been nominated for more writing Oscars than any other human being in the history of existence. Beyond Mr. Allen though, Ms. Blanchett's performance is said to be quite impressive and the Academy has shown their affection for her talents in the past, so depending on the field for Best Actress and the overall reception of the film, this could be a very real possibility as well. Possible categories: Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen), Best Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Supporting Actress (Sally Hawkins), Best Director (Woody Allen), Best Picture