'My Blueberry Nights' leaves sour taste

By: COURTNEY SMITH

Posted: 6/5/08

"My Blueberry Nights" follows Elizabeth (Norah Jones), a love torn young woman just coming out of a messy relationship. She decides to "take the long way across the street" on the way home from the diner owned by Jeremy (Jude Law.) Walking around the block a few times is not sufficient for her. "The long way" instead consists of a year-long cross-country road trip that takes her through Nevada and Tennessee where she works double shifts in diners and meets one strange character after another, slowly dragging the jet-lagged and tired plot with her for the ride.

MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS

Grade: C-
Verdict: There is a reason Jones keeps winning Grammys, not Oscars

The first English language project of acclaimed Chinese director Kar Wai Wong, the language and culture barrier contributed to the dry and barren characterization and dialogue of this film. Elizabeth meets many over-embellished caricatures of persons from Nevada and Tennessee. The dialogue is full of ridiculous impersonations of southern accents, and the characterization is nothing more than an accumulation of regional stereotypes.

While the minor characters have plenty of personality and predictable quirks, Jones' character is left with little disposition or identity, leaving the entire film without a central driving force. This makes the film only a series of wacky events that lack purpose or continuity.

Despite these shortcomings, the intriguing camera angles made the entire film an exceptional aesthetic experience. Good cinematography should be inconspicuous, but in "My Blueberry Nights," it catches the most attention. When watching the "climax," it was easier to be interested in the awesome camera angles than the plight or redemption of the sub-par characters.

The sound track is the best reason to go and see the film. Featuring big names like Norah Jones and Otis Redding, the music is jazzy and relaxing. It would be the film's saving grace if the big- name actors could just shut up and look beautiful on camera as the intoxicating sound track plays. Alas, the poor dialogue plagues the entirety of the film until it eventually drops dead.