Rachel Weisz

Blueberries Meet Luscious Taste Buds in ‘My Blueberry Nights’ With Jude Law, Rachel Weisz

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:01:00 -0700

CHICAGO – We see sensual close-up shots of blueberry pie overflow with aqueducts of vanilla ice cream in Wong Kar-Wai’s opening sequence of “My Blueberry Nights”. This dreamy scene sets the tone of the latest film from the famous Chinese director as he confronts the West with his unique cinematic style.

Rachel Weisz in Wong Kar-Wai’s “My Blueberry Nights”.
Photo credit: MaCall Polay, The Weinstein Company

Split into three separate stories, the film begins in a bohemian New York café owned by Jeremy (Jude Law) where Elizabeth (Norah Jones) discovers that her boyfriend has left her for another woman.

Distraught, she leaves her keys with sympathetic Jeremy and hopes her ex will pick them up at the café and be out of her life forever.

Elizabeth seeks comfort in Jeremy’s companionship and accepts his advice over leftover blueberry pie. Still, her heart is broken. Elizabeth decides she must go on a journey to reinvent herself.

She travels the country by bus and stops first in Memphis where her part in the film becomes more of an observer than a participant. Elizabeth takes on two jobs: one as a diner waitress and the other as a cocktail server. She befriends a customer at the bar, Arnie (David Strathairn), who’s an alcoholic cop grieving the loss of his wife’s faithfulness.

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Rachel Weisz plays Arnie’s wife, Sue Lynne, who parades around in sultry scenes with younger boyfriends until Arnie loses his cool. He not only threatens her young boyfriend but also threatens Sue Lynne’s life. After realizing his marriage has ended, he offs himself by crashing his car and leaves Elizabeth to comfort his now-heartbroken wife.

Throughout her adventure, Elizabeth keeps in contact via postcards with Jeremy in New York. They build a long-distance relationship. Jeremy continuously tries to reach her and eventually is confronted by his own heartbroken past, which he’s finally able to close.

Elizabeth moves on in her process and ends up in a Nevada casino where she waitresses yet again. At work, she meets Leslie (Natalie Portman): an amateur gambler on a losing streak. Somehow Elizabeth makes a deal with Leslie and gives all her savings in exchange for her brand-new Jaguar.

They end up taking a trip to Las Vegas to settle the differences of the bargain while Elizabeth helps Leslie deal with the death of her father. After a 300-day journey, Elizabeth makes it back to New York City to the café to eat her blueberry pie and be with Jeremy. She’s now ready to embrace the love that Jeremy and her have created.

Norah Jones (left) and Natalie Portman in Wong Kar-Wai’s “My Blueberry Nights”.
Photo credit: MaCall Polay, The Weinstein Company

Cinematically this film is beautiful. Sweltering close-ups and sensational highlights are often slowed down to accentuate the feelings of melancholy and lost love.

Scenes reminiscent of Edward Hopper’s famous “Nighthawks” create a loneliness with which only those who have loved and lost can associate.

Ornamental details like cigarette smoking and messy handwriting keep the settings tight and constrictive. This shows the suffocation that can be caused by the emotions of love.

Jones’ acting ability is natural, and like her breathy tunes, it keeps the film surreal and airy. Her character represents the shock of heartbreak and will be identified with to those who have been through the same. Law delivers an excellent supporting performance and his enthusiasm compliments Jones’ vacant character.

Portman’s gambling southerner is boisterous to Jones’ blues. However, Portman’s anything but believable.

Jude Law in Wong Kar-Wai’s “My Blueberry Nights”.
Photo credit: MaCall Polay, The Weinstein Company

Stratharin’s character is over the top and Weisz doesn’t break out of an “actress” in her scenes. The story skips forward with titles representing the day of her journey. This creates an awkward shakiness that’s fortified with interjections of high-volume, often-distracting soundtrack.

While Elizabeth goes on her soul-searching journey, it isn’t clear how she as a character changes or adjusts to what she has been through.

Though she sees failed love and addictions take control of others, the relevance of it to her own life is watered down. While the idea somehow flows overall, it won’t be accepted by the classic moviegoer.

Emotionally deep messages and sentimental concepts about losing love and depending on others as a mirror are key elements in this tale. “My Blueberry Nights” conjures up profound feelings from the heart and will call only to those who can put themselves into Elizabeth’s place of heartbreak.

Art houses around the world will grace this film on their screens and hopeless romantics will relate. The eccentric film will linger in the place where your blues reside and make you think about your own heart whether you want to or not.

“My Blueberry Nights” opened on April 18, 2008. In Chicago, the film is showing at AMC River East, AMC Loews Pipers Alley, Century Evanston and Landmark’s Renaissance Place Cinema.

By ALLISON PITACCIO
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
allee@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Definitely, Maybe’ Borrows From Successful Romantic Comedies, Adds Fresh Hook

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:05:05 -0700

CHICAGO – The makers of “Love Actually” and “Notting Hill” know how to do romantic comedy that doesn’t somehow fall into the trap of a formulaic chick flick like “27 Dresses”. “Definitely, Maybe,” which is their latest effort, on the other hand isn’t particularly original and really isn’t very funny.

Isla Fisher in “Definitely, Maybe”.
Photo credit: IMDb

That said, the picture still feels fresh and doesn’t do anything overly cutesy that will elicit groans from the reluctant boyfriends who will be dragged to the film this weekend. So long as you pick a comfortable seat, you’ll have an enjoyable two hours.

Ryan Reynolds plays Will Hayes: the quintessential Manhattan advertising executive. His hectic life gets a little crazier when he’s served with divorce papers.

On top of that, he learns his 10-year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin from “Little Miss Sunshine”), just started sex education in school. She begins asking questions about why his parents can’t stay together and wonders about her father’s romantic history, which leads him to tell the story of the women in his life since the early 1990s.

In most romantic comedies, you know Meg Ryan will be getting together with Tom Hanks in the final scene and you just have to hold on for the ride. “Definitely, Maybe” seems to borrow from TV’s “How I Met Your Mother” and doesn’t immediately reveal who Maya’s mother is or why that woman is divorcing Will.

Adding to that, the viewer knows – despite what happiness comes about in the flashbacks – the character is ultimately going to have to deal with the impending divorce before the movie ends. It’s the elements of mystery mixed with underlying depressing tone set at the beginning that makes this movie more emotionally involved than your run-of-the-mill Valentine’s Day release.

Elizabeth Banks and Ryan Reynolds in “Definitely, Maybe”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Ryan Reynolds is solid and it’s his goofy, lovable looks that sell what would possibly be a dull script. Isla Fisher from “Wedding Crashers” sparkles in every one of her scenes.

Fisher, who is about two seconds from being a box-office draw on her own right, shares the billing for this film with the equally beautiful and gifted Elizabeth Banks and Rachel Weisz.

Kevin Kline plays Weisz’s father: an opinionated, old writer complaining about the state of everything in society.

The film was penned and directed by lovey-dovey film veteran Adam Brooks. Brooks can be credited for “French Kiss” and “Practical Magic” and blamed for “Wimbledon” and “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”. Most of the elements of this picture feel strongly borrowed from other successful romances.

The locations in the upper west side of New York bring back memories of “You’ve Got Mail” and “Serendipity”. His creative jobs in advertising and politics remind you of “What Women Want” and “When Harry Met Sally”. The soundtrack of Will’s life even includes Badly Drawn Boy, who was last featured on the big screen accompanying another manboy in “About a Boy”.

What makes or breaks a romantic comedy is the ending. While the “Definitely, Maybe” finale doesn’t tread any new ground, it comes across warm without feeling hokey. In the genre that has a spectrum ranging from “Sweetest Thing” to “Annie Hall,” this film clearly falls into the more intelligent side.

The picture makes for a nice Valentine’s Day date that won’t leave the men emasculated. “Definitely, Maybe” gives an enjoyable experience that the audience can walk away from not thinking they’ve found another guilty-pleasure film.

“Definitely, Maybe” opened on Feb. 14, 2008.

Click here for our full “Definitely, Maybe” image gallery!

By DUSTIN LEVELL
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
dustin@hollywoodchicago.com