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My Blueberry Nights (2007)

Time Out rating

Average user rating

8 reviews

Synopsis

Wong Kar-wai’s English-language debut is the tale of a waitress (Norah Jones) on a voyage of self-discovery across the US, from New York to Las Vegas and back.

Movie review

From Time Out London

Wong Kar-Wai’s preferred mode is recapitulation: take that song, that scene, that shot, that line, and play it again, tease it, tease us, till it yields satisfaction. The technique resonates profoundly with such irreducible habits of mind as routine, memory and, more problematically, solipsism. For just as Wong’s beautiful dreamers obsess over intimate concerns to the exclusion of all else, his inwardness is reaping diminishing returns.

His last feature, ‘2046’, gorgeously recapitulated his career to date; and his first English language film, ‘My Blueberry Nights’ hints at the fresh start his characters ultimately earn. As ‘Happy Together’ showed, however, it’s easier to change one’s scenery than one’s spots.

The singer Norah Jones plays jilted lover Elizabeth, who hangs out after hours with a Manhattan diner manager (Jude Law) before heading south. As a Tennessee barmaid, she meets a boozy cop (David Strathairn) and the wife he can’t let go (Rachel Weisz); working in an Arizona casino, she gets mixed up with gambling gal Natalie Portman.‘My Blueberry Nights’ shows an outsider’s eye for kitsch Americana, and is shot, cut and designed with the exquisite wooziness of any WKW project.

But most of its tropes and motifs are transplanted from Hong Kong, its chamber-piece exchanges neglecting any real engagement with US life. Nor are these exchanges always effective: Jones struggles to make Elizabeth’s passivity compelling, while Law’s Manc accent grates, as do bits of cutesy business (keys, CCTV tapes, his ’n’ hers nosebleeds). There’s always pleasure in seeing Wong play it again; this time, though, less satisfaction.

Author: Ben Walters

Time Out London Issue 1957: Feb 20 to 26

User reviews of this film

usman khawaja said...

Posted on Apr 19 2008 19:07 jaded as jude law
i am not jesting when i say jude is turning into a royal court jester for hollywood with his affected british accent which he accentuates and the overflickering,puppy dog expressions he entices to woe teenage girls,talented mr ripley and A.I . are things in distant past ,as for natalie portman if she doesnt take care she will end up surely as the ghoul she played in goyas ghost,
but comung back to this romcom meets road movie ,its insipid narrative ,cliched characters and oh so arty farty neon drenched ,fast and slow motion camera shots of midwest and new york are absurdly hilarious,it wants to be a woody allen annie hall and ends up as bad as ,maybe a little better then definitely maybe .
the new york diner is so stereotyped with its anglo owner and his key jar with shots of doors opening and shutting in a ridiculously metaphorical reference to the characters lives and fate,its pretentious premise extends from a silly scene with the leads ending up with broken noses after assaults and then they end up asleep in the diner in impossible postures ,the kiss between nora and jude must have required some loose jointed acrobatics ,across a diner top .
rachel weisz is the only actress who brings some reality and conviction with her brief cameo as an embittered memphis wife ,but otherwise this insipid pie is just as tasteless as the ones jude keeps piling into his trash bin ,
this is frankly a wasted oppurtunity of trying to create a meaningful experiment as an indie movie ,
but it falls head first into the trap of cheap sentimentality as symbolised by the portman character,a lost little girl in a love -hate relation with her dad ,riding a jag in nevada desert with a compulsion for gambling ,but the failure is mainly attributed to norahs non acting skills ,her ability to sleep in a diner on a table and judes artificial antics ,which irritated me to distraction ,
usman k.- jbz7879

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B said...

Posted on Mar 31 2008 10:50 The script is amongst the worst I have ever seen but I still enjoyed the film. The lonely, isolated cafes, bars and casinos in little American towns are not glam NY nor grand Ansel Adams landscapes, but more relevant and more real at the personal level. Lighting, music, cinematography all great as usual. WKW excels at deploying the 'stars' as ordinary human beings, instead of each having extraordinary personality or characteristic. Would work better in Cantonese with the usual casts but no point. Same genre as Happy Together, but less sad and a lot 'sweeter'. Welcome try.

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Luis Peres said...

Posted on Mar 07 2008 17:14 An amazing beautiful movie. I realy don´t get the bad reviews it´s been getting. Unlike the usual Hollywood popcorn stuff this is a real romantic movie set in america. Lots of poetic moments, excelent romantic details, amazing soundtrack, make this movie a fantastic road movie for the soul as this story has heart all over.
I loved "In The Mood For Love" and "2046" and actualy i wans´t expecting much from this american venture from Kar Wai. I´m glad i was wrong. Beautiful movie with unforgettable simple characters who have a lot to make us feel if you´re tuned to the atmosphere.

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desenchantee said...

Posted on Mar 02 2008 09:04 B- even within the played to death romcom movie genre - the music (Cassandra Wilson's gorgeous cover of "Harvest Moon" is my fave) is the saving grace.

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agnes said...

Posted on Feb 28 2008 17:05 hmm makes me wonder wether i should see it or not hmm very intersting revievs ur experince with the film seems more intesting then the actual synopsis .or the film it self....

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Rick Billson said...

Posted on Feb 27 2008 19:47 Tedious and dull. See the exciting insides of 3 studio based bars. Location shots account for about, ooh, 1% of this film. It could have been produced on a theatre stage. What a waste of the big screen!

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Jason said...

Posted on Feb 25 2008 13:49 I nearly fell asleep half way through this film, nothing to catch my imagination... it certainly won't be winning any oscars!!! You obviously don't get out much to the cinema H as this film sucks!

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H said...

Posted on Feb 25 2008 09:23 I think it is a wonderful movie, very artistic, very romantic, story is great. This is the movie that the director really put his heart into it. I think it is just so perfect, and my husband liked it as well. Worth to see it.

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Julie said...

Posted on Feb 25 2008 00:52 About 20 people walked out half way through this film when I saw it.... not very good directing didn't captivate the viewer.

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Andy said...

Posted on Feb 24 2008 21:19 Truly dreadful film, one pregnant pause after another! Save two hours of your life and stay well away from this film, loads of other good ones out there at the moment.

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