Blue Jasmine

June 27, 2014 - Woody Allen's tale of two sisters earned a Best Actress Oscar for Cate Blanchett and a Best Supporting Actress nod for co-star Sally Hawkins. Allen himself earned a nomination for his screenplay, which gives a cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard, Louis C.K. and Andrew Dice Clay plenty to do.

Blanchett plays Jasmine (real name, Jeanette), married to Hal (Baldwin), a financial bigwig in New York City. Jasmine lives a life of privilege, seeing what she wants to see and ignoring the rest. But, when "the rest" becomes too much to ignore, Jasmine takes action that essentially leaves her with nothing except her sense of privilege.

She carries this air of entitlement across the country to San Francisco, where she moves in with her divorced, blue collar sister, Ginger (Hawkins), and her two kids. For a time, Jasmine seems a little more grounded while Ginger gets a little lost. But, in the end, the sisters are who they were and each reaps what she has sown.

Overall review: *** Allen reveals the story in alternating scenes from the present and flashbacks from the past. The technique gives the movie a nice rhythm and proves effective as a storytelling method.