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Tangled up in Blue

By William Hong

Wong Kar-wai's first serving of American pie uses the same recipe, but different ingredients, with mixed results.

When I stepped into the screening room to watch My Blueberry Nights, a few concerns flittered into mind. How well will director Wong Kar-wai's filmmaking style translate over for his first American film? Can Grammy Award winning songstress Norah Jones act as well as well she can sing? Will the movie make me crave decadent Marie Callender's pies? Aside from the lack of actual pie, I came away feeling slightly satisfied, but jonesing for more.

Co-written by Wong Kar-wai and crime novelist Lawrence Block, the film follows a lovelorn woman, Elizabeth (Norah Jones), who embarks on a soul-searching trip across America after a devastating breakup. Wong's signature themes are expounded, specifically the cyclical nature of love and relationships -- featuring, of course, plenty of attractive people indulging in wistful, romantic melancholy. As a road trip movie with little onscreen time on the road, film goers unfamiliar with his style may find the film's languid, meandering pace dreary. Despite the absence of his regular cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Wong signature, lingering slow motion frames are found in nearly every scene. He also tantalizes with gratuitous blueberry pie footage.

The film starts off with sensual footage of ice cream seductively dripping over a fresh blueberry pie. It's perhaps an attempt to butter up the audience, because unlike Faye Wong's sterling debut in Chungking Express, Norah Jones' silver screen initiation is anything but savory. Wong prohibited Jones from taking acting lessons, wanting to make her raw inexperience an asset to the film, and it really shows in her awkwardly delivered first scene. Fortunately, her performance, just like her onscreen persona, mellows out. It helps that she becomes more of a passive character that learns from others. A little too passive, perhaps, as Jones constantly wears a blank expression to match her flat delivery of lines. She's fortunate to have a solid cast to lean upon, including Jude Law, who takes on the romantic counterpart role normally occupied by Tony Leung.

Law aptly plays Jeremy, a soulful café owner who lends a comforting shoulder for Elizabeth during her achingly empty nights.  She quickly befriends Jeremy, who becomes her spiritual anchor and eventually a point of origins for her. He comforts her each night by lending his comforting presence, along with a slice of blueberry pie.

This goes on for exactly 57 days (the film keeps a running tally), until she abruptly decides to leave New York altogether, apparently clueless to Jeremy's growing affection for her.

The second act of the film begins in Memphis, where Elizabeth finds herself employed at a vintage American diner by day and dive bar at night. Here she befriends Arnie (superbly performed by David Straithaim), an alcoholic police officer unable to cope with an irreparable marriage. He constantly pines for his estranged wife Sue Lynn, played by the sultry Rachael Weisz in a Maggie Cheung-type role. Elizabeth provides Arnie a listening ear and passively becomes involved in their conflict. In the meantime, she regularly sends postcards to Jeremy and explains her sudden departure: to save up money for a car by working herself to the bone.

Hopelessly bitten by the love bug, Jeremy romantically and frantically attempts to track her down by calling every diner and bar in Memphis. It's difficult not to empathize with Jeremy (or be frightened by his stalker-esque obsession), as he's anchored down by his café and is unable to correspond with Elizabeth, who doesn't provide a return address. Indie songstress Cat Powers makes a brief appearance as Jeremy's former flame, Catya, again emphasizing the recurring nature of love... and Wong's fetish for having attractive female singers in acting roles.

After the drama between Arnie and Sue Lynn is resolved, Elizabeth heads west for the next vignette. She finds herself drawn to the gambling culture of Ely, Nevada, where she waitresses at a local casino. There she meets Leslie, a chatty gambling addict played by Natalie Portman, who is coping with a strained relationship with her father. Portman is a hard sell as a hardened gambler, but she excels otherwise as another transformative influence on Elizabeth. The two wind up traveling and bonding after Leslie's luck sours in the casino. In a scene reminiscent of Thelma and Louise, Elizabeth and Leslie drive across the ghostly Route 66, another iconic slice of American culture.

Wong films have always been rife with symbolism. Jeremy keeps keys left behind by patrons, along with the stories associated with each one. Elizabeth's goal of purchasing a car symbolizes her desire for freedom; in New York, where she literally went in circles riding the subways, another cyclical relationship metaphor. She learns from Arnie and Sue Lynn that the significance of letting go in a relationship. From Leslie, she learns the importance of having trust and faith in people again.

Although Wong's signature style made the transition, the film is lacking in key areas. The loose narrative falters due to Jones' blandness. Elizabeth isn't as captivating of a main character, partially due to Jones spaced-out performance and the flatfooted scripting that never quite leaps out. This makes Wong's traditionally slow pacing slightly less palatable.  Her musical contribution, alongside Cat Powers soulful crooning, compensates a little by contributing to the film's melancholic moodiness. Umebayashi Shigeru's aching Yumeji's Theme from In the Mood for Love makes a welcome return as an Americanized harmonica arrangement

While not as poignantly moving or mesmerizing as his previous films, My Blueberry Nights is still an enjoyable film.  The film compensates for its lack of flavor with a strong supporting cast, a moving score, and Wong's affinity for making the ordinary poignant.  Although the presence of Wong alumni Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and Faye Wong are missed, his first American film is a promising start in Hollywood. Still I can only imagine how different this film would have been with his usual cast.

This is one pie I won't be reheating; unlike I do with his previous works, I won't be craving for seconds this time. One slice, albeit a good one, is enough for me.

Date Posted: 4/4/2008