What I've Watched: My Blueberry Nights

Some nights are just going to be bummer nights. Maybe the food you cooked didn't turn out right. Or perhaps your day at the office was rough so there's just nothing better than to have a few drinks and hope you sleep until the following week. I was having a particularly 'off' day when I came home and started watching My Blueberry Nights.

The movie, the first American film by famed director Wong Kar Wai, can be perceived in many ways. Maybe it was my bad day before it, but I really felt like the movie was about missed opportunities. The main character, played by bluesy singer Norah Jones, is trying to forget about an ex-boyfriend who has broken her heart. The story is a series of vignettes (yeah, big words from me) that help push everything along. First there is the diner owner (played by an improbable Jude Law); then you've got an estranged couple (the drunk cop, an excellent David Strathairn, and his slut/evil wife, by a personal favorite of mine, Rachel Weisz); finally you have a wacko gambler (the most delicious Natalie Portman).

In all of their tales, it's all about the moments they have to make better choices and how they let those moments pass and things continue to deteriorate. Jude apparently wanted to be an athlete but instead is a sad-sack cafe owner (totally unbelievable), so that's a shame. Strathairn can't bring himself to confront his wife's promiscuity (see, more big words) and can't even write her an honest letter to admit his feelings. Wiesz is just an all-out whore, which sucks because of how hot she is. And Portman just doesn't see herself as a desperate gambler, and a poor Texas/Florida dye job in the hair won't convince me.

Sadly, it's not like the movie was bad. I actually liked it quite a bit. Great camera work, good use of color palette to evoke emotions and convey meanings. The dialogue (written by Kar Wai) is solid, but it's the people the actors who I just don't take seriously (lone exception being Strathairn, who's great). Outside of Mr. Law and Ms. Jones I love all these actors. There was just something off, and in the end the movie didn't reach the heights of Kar Wai's previous efforts. Not the end of the world, but I had higher hopes. Until the next flick ...