My Blueberry Nights

Scriptwriter-turned-director Wong Kai Wai has been making features for almost two decades now and his fan base has grown significantly over that time. It was Chungking Express (1994) that really gave him international exposure and a cult following, but he’s also been popular on the festival circuit and somewhat of a Cannes darling for a good while now, having been nominated for, and won, several awards over the years.

I’ve got to say that my first experience of Wai, in the form of In the Mood for Love (2000), was rather bemusing. I couldn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about. It’s not that I hated it, but I waited and waited for a story that didn’t really materialise. That said, the look of the film was absolutely amazing, and I’ve now come to realise that one of Wai’s key strengths is his unique visual style. He also delves into emotive themes that we can all relate to, contrasted with relatively sparse dialogue. However, for his latest project, My Blueberry Nights, Wai has gone several steps further by teaming up with crime writer Lawrence Block on a more wordy script, casting several well-know Hollywood actors and making the film entirely in the English language.

My Blueberry Nights follows the emotional and physical journey of Elizabeth (Norah Jones) who, after splitting up with her cheating partner and developing an ambiguous friendship with a local café owner (Jude Law), leaves New York on a trip across the states to clear her head and cure her aching heart. During her short stays working as a waitress, Elizabeth encounters several people for whom life seems even bleaker than hers, including an alcoholic cop (David Strathairn) at odds with his ex-wife (Rachel Weisz) and a feisty gambler looking to up her luck (Natalie Portman).

What struck me first as the opening scenes unfolded was the level of colour saturation. If you’ve ever played around with Photoshop and sharpened the hues you’ll know what I mean. This ocular effect gives the film an almost artificial feel in places, and you get the sense that the café frequented by Elizabeth on a succession of cold, dark New York evenings, is in another world. The distinct lack of activity both within and outside of this coffee shop makes the bustling city that never sleeps seem rather dull. But perhaps this just the director’s way of focusing our attentions away from places and onto people.

In terms of people, I’m always intrigued by how singers or musicians, with no previous acting experience, get parts in films. Now don’t get me wrong, I adore Norah Jones and am the proud owner of her albums, but I did wonder how she was going to fare as the leading lady. Equally, I was sceptical about the casting of Jude Law, whose face rather than thespian skills, appears to be dominant factor in his success. But I was really looking forward to Natalie Portman’s part in the yarn, being a huge fan.

It has to be said that Jones does pretty well. She brings enough sensitivity and feeling to the role, without stepping into dramatic or angst territory, to make her character credible. And making use of her dulcet tones on the soundtrack was a smart move. Similarly, once you get pass Law’s less-than-perfect Mancunian accent, he’s actually quite good, delivering some amusing lines and making you root for him to be reunited with Elizabeth because his efforts to find her are so endearing. However, what did slightly disappoint me was Portman’s piece; I wasn’t able to engage with her flighty character as much, which sometimes felt a little contrived and lacked the sparkle you normally get from her near-perfect performances.

But what makes My Blueberry Nights really watchable is its simplicity – this is a film built around romance, and it’s romance that fuels the story, holds our attention, navigates through twists and turns and ultimately arrives at its intended destination. Yet Wai is not just about fairgrounds and candyfloss. By far the best, and most absorbing, part of the journey is the segment between Strathairn, as the man who’s using booze in a desperate attempt to wash away the pain of losing his wife, and Weisz, who’s flaunting her new testosterone toy in her husband’s face, knowing that she’ll never take him back. Through this we are reminder of just what can happen to people when love curdles, relationships turn sour and hurt, anger, frustration and loss ensue.

I’m not quite sure what the distributors were thinking when they chose the poster image for My Blueberry Nights, because if you retain that picture in your head when you go into the cinema, you’ll probably work out quite quickly what the ending will be. But I guess even if you do, you’ll still enjoy this charmer of a film.

My Blueberry Nights is out in UK cinemas from 22 February.

[Reviewed and posted by HC]