My Blueberry Nights – DVD Review

My Blueberry Nights is the latest film by acclaimed Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai. His previous films have evoked an airy, poetic tone and he has quite the cinematic following. Even though this is his first English language effort, the result is seamless filmmaking. If a language barrier existed during production, nothing to that effect is present in the final product.

Grammy award winning singer/songwriter Norah Jones stars in the film as Elizabeth. A girl who happens into a diner one evening to find out from the waiter Jeremy (Jude Law), that her boyfriend was in the previous night with another woman. Distraught, she leaves her keys with Jeremy in case her cheating boyfriend returns for them. During this confusing time in her life, she hangs out with Jeremy at the diner quite frequently and the two develop a sweet friendship. Elizabeth decides she needs to leave town, so she boards a bus to Memphis where she gets two waitressing jobs at two restaurants. She meets a cop named Arnie (David Strathairn) who is mourning his divorce from his wife Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz). She soon leaves town again, this time for Vegas where she gets a waitressing job in a seedy casino. There she befriends Leslie (Natalie Portman), a gambler. Throughout her travels, Elizabeth learns from each of the people she encounters, and eventually ends up back in New York City at the diner with her friend Jeremy.

When put that way, the film seems very straightforward. It isn’t. It’s very poetic and layered with different facets of the different characters being revealed at different points. At times the film feels disjointed and it feels like a struggle to keep up with. Not because it’s moving too fast, but because it’s moving so slow. It savors every moment, every character, every word of dialogue. Elizabeth is on an exhausting journey and we as the audience feel just as exhausted as she does. For me, it took everything in me to stay awake for about half the film. The other half was entrancing with its beautiful watercolors and handsome cast.

Speaking of the cast, they all do very well here. Jude Law isn’t as smarmy as he usually is and is much easier to take. He does lay on the charm pretty thick, but that’s customary for him. I still fall for it. Rachel Weisz had just had her baby when filming began, and she looks gorgeous. She’s more voluptuous than normal and that’s not at all a bad thing. David Strathairn is probably the least attractive in the cast, but he’s such a darn good actor that it doesn’t matter one bit. Natalie Portman is the only one who is a little bit hard to believe as a white trashy gambling girl. But if you can imagine it as an extension of her character in Where the Heart Is, it’s not too much of a stretch. Norah Jones is better than expected in her first leading role. She isn’t given too much to do other than look wide-eyed, ponderous and forlorn, and she’s very good at that. I will say this though, the kiss at the end between Jones and Law is phenomenal. The two have genuine chemistry. Or Jude Law just has that much experience.

My Blueberry Nights is not one of those DVD’s you can pop in when you want something mindless to munch popcorn to. It’s one that you need to brew a pot of coffee with and savor. It’s a bit of a chore at times, but the payoff is worth it. The experience of watching a Wong Kar Wai film is always something to remember. The films fall in a class of their own, they’re never just “good” or “bad”. I feel like there must be some sort of warning though to the casual moviegoer who isn’t familiar with these films. Fans of Norah Jones who are excited to see their favorite singer in a feature film will most likely be disappointed. With the beautiful cinematography, fluid storytelling, and poetic tone, fans of Wong Kar Wai will not be.

This DVD release is presented in widescreen with Dolby Digital surround sound and the option of Spanish subtitles. I feel like I’ve been saying it a lot lately, but the visual quality of this disc is very impressive. The colors look like a moving painting – just beautiful. The surround sound is perfect for this film, because it accents the airy soundtrack very well.

Question and Answer with Wong Kar Wai – An interview by David Schwartz with the Museum of the Moving Image. Wong Kar Wai explains his style of filmmaking, talks about living in Hong Kong, and how differently the film business is over there. Very interesting. 19 minutes

Making My Blueberry Nights – A making of with interviews from every actor in the film. They talk about casting Norah Jones, which was interesting. There was no other actor considered for her role. This is approx. 10 minutes.

Trailers – The Deal, Berlin (directed by Julien Schnabel), Breaking and Entering, and The Great Debaters

Oh, and there’s an annoying stop smoking commercial courtesy of thetruth.com. I didn’t like these when I was a smoker, and I don’t like them now that I’m not.

The film is very pretty and dreamlike. Pretty seems to be the best word to describe it. Pretty colors, pretty scenery, pretty cast. Can be straining to watch, but it’s pretty. The extras are sparse, but I kind of like the lack of director commentary. He explained everything he needed to in the making of and in the interview.

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The Weinstein Company presents My Blueberry Nights. Directed by Wong Kar Wai. Starring Norah Jones, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, David Strathairn. Written by Wong Kar Wai and Lawrence Block. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: July 1, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.