It's just ridiculous to judge the film like this. Woody is used to taking a certain "class" and attribute the tragedy to a small group of people not the old man's style of play. But if it is attributed to the hypocrisy of "upper society", I am even more sorry for Cate's wonderful interpretation. Cate's performance broke through the narrative structure set by Woody and formed a more powerful cross-examination in a wider space, giving the film a vitality to pass on.
Woody sets up two classes in the movie, one "upper class" and one working class. J is forced to go bankrupt by exposing her husband's fraud and is forced to go from extravagance to simplicity. This is the field where the story takes place. The laughs and tears are all from the embarrassment caused by the conflict in the field. This also constitutes an unbreakable frame in the film, and Jasmine's tragedy comes from hitting the frame.
In life, everyone has some social imprints on them, and these imprints have been continuously strengthened from birth. In a family that you cannot choose, accept the material and education it can give you. When you grow up, you meet people who are similar to you, form values that are similar to them, and walk a life path similar to them, and then such a group of people is called a certain class. And some of the rules of the game shared by these classes have become the framework for your daily life to rely on. Following it, you will feel safe, and if you violate it, you will be punished powerfully and bring endless disillusionment. If it cannot be saved, it will collapse like a wave.
The J in the film is like that. What is embarrassing is that her tragedy is not that she did something wrong, or that the people around her did something wrong, it was precisely that they were all acting in the "right" way. Doing it all right, it turned a woman crazy.
Augie used to be a business elite. The way to make money was to use people's greed for profit under the cover of legal loopholes. Maybe the film shows a bit more extreme, but isn't the essence of finance the realization of relative value? Isn't it the "deception" that people's desires and trust are projected on the longitude and latitude of time and space? Such as the occurrence of the financial turmoil, how can certain organizations and countries premeditate? At least in the A class, such behavior cannot be called "cheating", it can only be called "smart" and "lucky". As for adultery, profligacy, and hypocrisy, they are just the rules of the game. Everyone is like this, all costs can be. There is no longer a true judgment. They live like this, which is their reality.
On the other hand, Ginger, she and the people around her also live under the brand of their own class. When there is a chance to speculate, they will definitely speculate, otherwise they will not keep buying lottery tickets. You must be vain when you have the opportunity to be vain, otherwise you still carry a certain brand-name bag when you don’t dance. Adultery must be committed when there is a chance, otherwise it will not be used as a tool for venting. It's just that the "gene is a little bit worse", the sexiness index is not high, and I can't get the ticket to enter the upper class. As for being deceived 200,000 dollars, it was because they wanted to play big speculation, but unfortunately they didn’t have the ability to speculate, and their knowledge and mind were not enough...Gs abide by their moral values, and then act instinctively in this framework, not so much. The leverage and hedging are foreplay, rude and pungent.
It is J who is exiled by these two kinds of "real". J enjoys its cage very much during his prosperous life. He is sexy, spends diligently, holds family banquets, donates to charity, and does everything right. In addition to not having delusions, but also having "love". Love is the collision and fusion between two independent lives. J has been materialized, everything she can provide can be bought with money. The love in her mouth is nothing but a meal ticket and a pass. After debunking A's scam, he personally destroyed the pass, and the rest of the memorial afterwards is only untimely.
J has always disagreed with G's argument of genetic determination. Rather, the change in circumstances is attributed to not working hard. In a sense, J is right. Efforts can indeed change the situation. Modern society provides a relatively reliable way to change: education. It is true that the children of ordinary people can raise their social class to the greatest extent through education. However, J's understanding of education has deviated. Before that, education was just embellishment for her. Whether she studies anthropology or fitness, it only makes her a smart and sexy stunner. Once she is favored, she will be abandoned like a grass. After that, education is a means of earning a living skills. As long as you find an "ideal" shortcut to earn a living, you don't think it is necessary. She never hoped to become a person capable of resisting alienation through education. Or is this Woody's little cunning? After "Annie Hall", make up for knowledge-based education again?
J also disagrees with G's moral allegations against her. There is a very exciting dialogue in the film: J hangs up "Golden Turtle" and waits for a call at home. G said, "Maybe he found you lying and then left?" J flew out immediately, "Can you please? Don't mention that I lied?! Well, I did fabricate some facts and omitted some details, but in general, my emotions, thoughts, my humor... isn't this me?" Yes, these are all hers , Is also the mark of "upper society" needs. As long as it is well hidden, can this be called deception? This is wit! It's anxious! Unfortunately, she ran into a politician, and the politician needed a mascot. It was not because of J’s deception that J was dumped. It was because J didn’t even understand crisis public relations. His previous bad debts were unbalanced, and even the "shameful" emotional breakdown was broken down. With this quality, he later became a congressman's wife. What kind of basket to poke? So quickly get rid of J pull down as a moral defender.
J, who hit his head and broke his blood in the social framework, finally put his hope on his stepson, wanting to take some warmth from the relationship, but how is it possible? You are just a plaything. What you gave your child is just some game coins. He is out. What can give you is just the last blow-"He disillusioned me, but I hate you even more." Poor J At this time, I still didn't know where the stepson's hatred came from, and still cried and said, "I regret what I did at that moment." It seems that she won't be crazy if she doesn't make a report call? Ugh. Ugh. Ugh!
In any society, there are classes. As long as it is a human being, it is always under the shackles of the class. However, the reason why human beings are human beings, can create classes and then be able to transcend, is because of the integrity and sacredness of life. Class provides a certain standard of life, but the standard is not used to frame life. A sound person has the ability to live artistically under any standard, rather than relying solely on instinct—not to mention that this is an instinct imposed on you by society—to live. Doesn't this kind of ability mean that the Buddhist school says that everyone has Buddha-nature?
Regrettably, J's possibility of becoming a healthy person has been consumed by himself, by others, and by society, and he has no ability to realize it, and it will eventually become a catastrophe. So far J broke through Woody's preset movie frame. Thanks to Cate for portraying J into such a full-fledged woman. This is not simply "pretending to be a silly silly queen" to generalize. She allowed the film to grow again! J's pain no longer becomes a simple mockery of a certain class. She uses collapse to let the viewer see the sorrow after people cannot break the frame. In the film, almost all people become instinct drivers, setting up various shackles to make each other passers-by, oh no, in the end even passers-by can't do it.
View more about Blue Jasmine reviews
