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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)) plays a woman who falls in love with a man played by 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 story-line is that as Jones' character, (the pop singer also debuts here as an actress) 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 all over the country, because he has no clear idea where she is, desperately trying 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 they shared 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 absurd version of reality is this? If they had had sex, I might have bought into it. Not that sex necessarily needs to be the core of everything romantic, but this premise was just way too platonic and implausible 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 the case of My Blueberry Nights this lack of familiarity 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 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, Happy Together (1997) 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 posts:
Wong Kar-Wai: The Grandmaster/一代宗師/一代宗师/Yīdài Zōngshī/Jat1 Doi6 Zung1 Si1/ (2013) - Visuals prevail in Kar-Wai's strange kung fu spectacle
My Blueberry Nights (2007) - A slice too cute
2046 (2004) - Kar-Wai's visually resplendent, empty hull of a movie
The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: Best erotic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
2000 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
In the Mood for Love/花樣年華/faa1joeng6 nin4waa4/huāyàng niánhuá (2000) - Kar-Wai's delectable home run
1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: Best gay-themed titles
Happy Together/春光乍洩 (Chun gwong cha sit) (1997) - Kar-Wai's expat love drama magic
1994 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Chungking Express/重慶森林 (1994) - Kar-Wai's urban love drama is a visual treat
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 10 mil. $
Box office: 22 mil. $
= Flop (returned 2.2 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 $ (3.9 % of the total gross). Its three biggest
markets were Japan with 4.2 mil. $ (19.1 %), France with 3.3 mil. $
(15 %) and Germany with 1.9 mil. $ (8.6 %). 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 in Sleuth (2007). My Blueberry Nights is rotten at 45 % with a 5.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of My Blueberry Nights?
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