"Blue Jasmine": If Life Deceives You

When I first read Yi Shu's novel "My First Half of Life" more than ten years ago, it told the story of a beautiful woman who, after being divorced by her doctor husband of many years, entered the workforce and struggled to learn to stand on her own. The protagonists in the novel are named “Juan Sheng” and “Zi Jun,” a clear nod to the characters in Lu Xun’s famous love story “Regret for the Past.” Yi Shu seemed to enjoy imagining what Juan Sheng and Zi Jun's love story would be like in modern Hong Kong. The novel ends with Zi Jun meeting a knight in shining armor, completing a glamorous transformation.

At first glance, Blue Jasmine seems like Woody Allen's version of "My First Half of Life." A beautiful and wealthy female protagonist faces divorce and bankruptcy. She undergoes vocational training, learns to be a minor office worker, and is harassed by various unreliable men. She then meets a tall, wealthy, and handsome man, seemingly on the verge of a happy life... but that's not the case at all. In the world of popular novels, Yi Shu is sharp and cruel, but compared to Woody Allen, she is almost dreamily gentle—Allen's satire is much more subtle and ruthless. Just as he lets Cate Blanchett stand shivering in the wind with smeared makeup and wet hair, he meticulously portrays the complete downfall of a woman who climbed the social ladder to the top.

As the absolute protagonist of the entire film, Jasmine's main character trait is, of course, the vanity and snobbery of a woman who has risen from an ordinary family (being adopted, even considered less fortunate) to high society. From the information in the film, she met her wealthy husband while in school, dropped out to marry him, and began a new chapter in her life, along with an unrestrained arrogance and indifference. She and Ginger are adopted sisters, but as an elder sister, even if not a biological one, she shows limited familial affection towards Ginger. Before Jasmine's bankruptcy, when Ginger and her husband visited New York, Jasmine's reaction was not joy but horror. Woody uses a small scene to starkly contrast the two sisters. Jasmine repeatedly and awkwardly declines her sister's dinner invitation, while Ginger naively says, "It's your birthday next week, we must take you out for a meal." Jasmine, having reluctantly proposed a few restaurants, then bitterly complains to her husband, "Oh my God, we'll have to invite them to my birthday party!" After Ginger and her husband entrust their investment to Hal, Jasmine seemingly shows a trace of familial affection, tenderly asking Hal in the bathroom, "You will make money for them, right?" But in the next moment, she is already worried about yoga, Pilates, and charity luncheons... In Jasmine's mind, these matter far more than this working-class couple.

After going bankrupt, sitting at an outdoor restaurant eating cheap clams, Jasmine still remarks, "Oh, how European this place feels, just like when we visited the Mediterranean." Facing a brute who only knows about vodka and hangs around with a dentist and a nurse, she still insists on drinking a martini with a lemon twist. (This scene itself is an excellent piece of satire!) Blue-collar (working class), dentist (middle class)—neither interests her. Only an attaché who can discuss the fashion scene and European travel catches her eye. When she can casually mention New York and Park Avenue during conversations, she glows, and the brilliance of her former life momentarily returns to her nearly collapsed self. This woman who early on changed her name from the ordinary "Janet" to the more sophisticated "Jasmine," crafted herself into a charming and elegant lady—not for an ordinary housewife's life, but custom-made for high society.

She was not born an aristocrat. Although she boasts that she dropped out of school to get married, claiming she was just coasting in school anyway, she also admits that she was a top student. These contradictory statements are not careless script errors but rather Woody Allen's detailed portrayal: Jasmine is lying. The reason is simple—she wants to disguise herself as someone who was born privileged, carelessly coasting through school, and then effortlessly marrying a wealthy man. In reality, she came from humble beginnings, had to babysit to earn pocket money, and worked hard in college to secure her future. Her marriage to Hal completely transformed her, or more accurately, high society transformed her, and tragically, then discarded her.

Unlike similar-themed American TV shows like 2 Broke Girls, the film doesn't focus on the flattery and cold stares of those around her before and after her fall. Woody Allen keeps the spotlight firmly on Jasmine because what truly ruins her life is her own obsession with high society. She could have left her husband, a financial criminal, but she chose to turn a blind eye, enjoying the luxury it brought; she could have told Dwight the truth but instead fabricated lies to secure the status of an ambassador’s wife. She was so enamored with the life of globe-trotting and decorating mansions that she preferred to maintain the illusion by "turning a blind eye," even if it meant building a sandcastle on the beach. Her obsession infected Ginger, who initially believed "sexy and reliable" was the best choice, but ended up sleeping with a sound engineer, later asking Jasmine, with heavy French perfume, "Isn't he a better catch?" Vanity and desire, like parasites, gnawed at Jasmine's life and extended their tendrils to her sister’s balcony. Ultimately, both sisters heavily crashed onto the concrete pavement of reality. Woody Allen shows no mercy here, and it is precisely this "mercilessness" that makes the film's satire so excellent.

This brings us to a recurring question throughout the film: did Jasmine know about her husband Hal's fraud? Early in the film, when Jasmine moves in with Ginger, Ginger defends her by saying, "Oh, she doesn’t understand finance." Augie, however, says, "She was married to Hal for so many years, involved in real estate and financial fraud together. She knew everything! But when she saw those diamonds and mink coats, she chose to turn a blind eye." This is immediately followed by a flashback, where Hal is doing some shady paperwork for real estate deals, and Jasmine, with an innocent face, tells her friends, "Oh, I never pay attention to Hal’s business, I just sign my name." This scene echoes Ginger and Augie’s conversation. Later, when answering her stepson's question, Jasmine says, "Do you think I would let him use my name to register companies and open bank accounts if I knew?" This seems to clear her of suspicion. However, Woody Allen reveals the truth in the end—when betrayed, her first reaction is to report her husband to the FBI. It turns out, she did know. The brilliance of the script lies in these multi-angled, multi-faceted, continuously interwoven responses that create illusions until the sudden reversal.

We thought Hal was a fraud, but it turns out Jasmine is a better-disguised fraud. But in this film, everyone deceives each other: Al deceives Ginger, Ginger deceives Chili, Hal deceives Jasmine, Jasmine deceives Dwight... No one is innocent, no one is pure. In vanity, failure, and deceit, everyone appears laughably petty.

Unlike his previous "city love letters" like Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Midnight in Paris or romantic comedies like Everyone Says I Love You, Woody Allen returns to the profound satire akin to Match Point. Even his signature verbose dialogue gives way to calm observation. Though Jasmine rambles on for ten minutes at the start, exhibiting Woody Allen's trademark neuroticism, it is no longer the intellectual musings on art, history, and anecdotes but the mumbling of a nervous breakdown.

Throughout the film, memories and reality intertwine, yet the editing remains orderly; the dialogue is dense, and many characters briefly appear, but all the foreshadowing pays off with intricate echoes; the film is filled with scattered clues, with hardly a wasted moment, showcasing a seasoned writer’s prowess. This film may seem plain, but Woody Allen’s meticulously crafted script demonstrates the deep skills of a realist writer, making it arguably his best work in recent years.