Woody Allen's version of the Madoff Scandal, with Cate Blanchett as the New York socialite who moves into her sister's apartment in San Francisco after her life has fallen apart due to a financial scandal, involving her fraudulent husband. The two women aren't real sisters, they were both adopted by the same parents, and while Jeannette changed her name into Jasmine (her foster parents' favorite flower) and became the wife of a wealthy investment-banker, Ginger (Sally Hawkins) seems happy with het blue collar status and lover, a not so smart hunk called Chili (con carne, I suppose). She explains her situation (and inferiority to her sis) by telling everyone that she was the one with the bad DNA.
Jasmine is broke, hasn't got a penny left, but still buys first class tickets to fly from coast to coast; Ginger still loves her classy sister, but her former husband keeps reminding her of the fact that Jasmine's rich husband ruined their lives with a bad investment. Jasmine uses alcohol and pills to numb the pain, and when she gets in touch with a man who's too good to be true, she thinks she can really start all over again and pick up her old life, simply by pretending that her social downfall (and several other things) never happened.
In Blue Jasmine Woody Allen is looking over his shoulder, to some of his darkest and most ambitious movies, such as Interiors, Stardust Memories and September. But in this new movie, he's avoiding any form of self-indulgence and pretentiousness. Blue Jasmine is also slightly reminiscent of the more recent You Will meet a Tall Dark Stranger and some of Woody's forays into the thriller and detective genre; it's not really a thriller, but some of the plot twists are completely unpredictable. The final twist will leave you flabbergasted and force you to view the entire narrative in a new light (and replay the movie in your mind)
This is vintage Woody, an instant classic. It might even fascinate those who usually do not like this film maker. Cate Blanchett dominates the movie with a mesmerizing performance, but some other performances are very good as well. Bobby Cannavale is excellent as the hunk (a late descendant of Marlon Brando's Stanley from A Streetcar named Desire) and Sally Hawkins' is a delight as the blue collar sister, whose DNA might be inferior, but who's smart enough to do what her big sister is desperately trying to accomplish: manipulating reality in order to enjoy life.
