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| Stylized and otherworldly, but very pretty, this strong-colored poster for Wong Kar-Wai's My Blueberry Nights |
My Blueberry Nights is great Chinese co-writer/director Wong Kar-Wai's (In the Mood for Love (2000)) American debut.
Norah Jones (Wah Do Dem (2009)) falls in love with Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)), who runs the cutest little pie café under the train tracks somewhere in New York.
- Really, you might think?
But that is the plot of My Blueberry Nights. It sounds picturesque and very delish, and it is, but too much so, also.
The main problem for me with the storyline is that as also debuting Jones' character Elizabeth leaves New York to cleanse herself after a break-up, going from Memphis to Vegas, waitressing, while Law's character writes her stacks of postcards, sending them every which way over the country, because he has no clear idea where Elizabeth is, trying desperately to get her back. He even reserves a chair for her in his café, and keeps making the blueberry pies that no-one else orders except for her, just in case she comes back. And all of this is based simply on a single kiss one night when she was asleep on his counter, as well as dozens of unforgettable late night talks over vast amounts of blueberry pies... - I mean, come on! What version of reality is this? If they had had sex, I might have bought it. Not that sex necessarily needs to be the core of everything romantic, but this premise was just way too platonic for my taste.
Apart from this objection, other critics like New York Sun's Meghan Keane have pointed to Wong's slightly clichéd portrayal of America. To me, it seems he just doesn't know the country personally, which I guess is true, and in this case it doesn't elevate the movie as can sometimes be the case, when foreign filmmakers create their versions of America.
On the positive side, there are fine performances from Natalie Portman (Black Swan (2010)) and David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)) in supporting roles, and a sweetness and likability to Jones' character and her acting that cannot be denied. It may be just the quality that soulful singer Norah Jones naturally possesses, but it is there alright.
Also, of course, Wong's talent for creating beautiful pictures and using colors very vividly is still impressive and undeniable, here in collaboration with cinematographers Darius Khondji (To Rome with Love (2012)) and Pung-Leung Kwan (2046 (2004)).
At the end of the day, though, My Blueberry Nights mostly resembles a perfect women's magazine accompaniment, - almost as sweet and unbelievable as Lasse Hallström's horrendous Chocolat (2000), - yet a good deal better than that turkey nonetheless.
While waiting for Wong's coming martial arts film, The Grandmaster (2013), we may wonder why he did not have a better screenwriting partner on his first American project than novelist and short story writer Lawrence Block (A Walk Among the Tombstones (1992), novel)), who obviously did not help Wong to a more credible plot. Of course, it is possible that he tried, and that Wong was simply too bull-headed to listen.
In any case My Blueberry Nights does not compare to Wong's great films, Chungking Express (1994) and In the Mood for Love (2000). These, - especially the latter, - are amazing films that everyone should watch. Wong has also given the world the truly pretentious 'sci-fi' turkey, 2046 (2004), which nonetheless won quite a lot of critical acclaim, (but don't be fooled, the film is utterly pointless.)
Related post:
Wong Kar-Wai: 2046 (2004) or, A Shell of Art
Here is a short trailer for the film
Cost: 10 mil. $
Box office: 21.9 mil. $
= Flop (returned 2.19 times the cost)
[My Blueberry Nights premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, France) and runs 95 minutes. The idea for the film came from a short by Wong, which he had screened in Cannes in 2001. Shooting took place in 7 weeks from June - August 2006 in Memphis, Tennessee, Nevada, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, California and in New York. Jones and Law's kissing scene was reportedly shot 150 times, taking 3 days. Due to Wong's prior status as an original filmmaker auteur, My Blueberry Nights competed for the Palme d'Or (the main prize) at Cannes 2007, although the film isn't really worthy of that honor at all. It opened #43 to a 74k $ first weekend in North America, where it never attained a higher rank, although it spread from 6 to 69 cinemas during its 15 week run, grossing just 867k $ (3.4 % of the total gross). Its three biggest markets were Japan with 4.2 mil. $ (19.2 %), France with 3.3 mil. $ (15.1 %) and Germany with 1.9 mil. $ (8.7 %). Wong made 8 shorts in the years after the film, before he returned theatrically with The Grandmaster/Yi Dai Zong Shi (2013). Jones returned appearing as herself in 30 Rock (2009, TV-series) and theatrically in Wah Do Dem (2009). Law returned in Sleuth (2007). My Blueberry Nights is rotten at 48 % with a 5.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of My Blueberry Nights?
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