Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures  |  Adult
Boston  |  Portland  |  Providence
 
Movies
Features  |  Reviews

My Blueberry Nights

Sexy but emotionally failing
By ROB NELSON  |  April 16, 2008
3.0 3.0 Stars
My_Blueberry_Nights1_inside
MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS: Wong Kar-wai isn’t in the mood these days.

Three years after 2046, Wong Kar-wai is not in love any more — and I for one am happy for him. Perfectionism can be exhausting for all involved. A mere 12 months in the making, the Hong Kong master’s willfully scattershot US debut wanders alongside forlorn waitress Elizabeth (Norah Jones) from New York to Memphis to Vegas, picking up disposable characters (David Strathairn, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz) in dives along the way. But as Wong said last year at Cannes, where the movie disappointed many, My Blueberry Nights is “not about a journey. It’s about distance. Somehow, something is missing.” The director’s heart? So even as Wong’s widescreen images (ice cream splashing a blueberry-pie slice!) are as sexy as usual, there’s a newly perverse poignancy to the movie’s emotional failures and downward mobility. Wong, whether for personal, economic, or spiritual reasons, isn’t in the mood these days. Maybe you know the feeling. 90 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Harvard Square + Embassy + suburbs
Related:
  Topics: Reviews , Wong Kar-wai , Movie Dramas , Entertainment ,  More more >
  • Share:
  • RSS feed Rss
  • Email this article to a friend Email
  • Print this article Print
Comments

Live from St. Paul: real-time updates at thePhoenix.com/Election2008
More: DNC 2008
ARTICLES BY ROB NELSON
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   CONSTANTINE'S SWORD  |  May 28, 2008
    At once depressing and exhilarating
  •   SON OF RAMBOW  |  May 07, 2008
    A pint-sized Be Kind Rewind
  •   MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS  |  April 16, 2008
    Sexy but emotionally failing
  •   IRANIAN CHICK  |  January 10, 2008
    An interview with Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi
  •   HE’S HERE!  |  November 20, 2007
    Todd Haynes talks about his Dylan movie

 See all articles by: ROB NELSON

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 
HOT TOPICS
 More Topics . . .
LATEST SLIDESHOWS

All Slideshows



Featured Articles in Reviews:
two_list

A Girl Cut in Two

High-quality perversity
080905_astrea_list

Unmitigated Gaul

Eric Rohmer says adieu with Astrea and Celadon
iservedthekinglist.jpg

I Served the King of England

Ambitious but old-fashioned and sluggish
disastermovielist.jpg

Disaster Movie

Devoid of laughs or recognizable actors
stealingamericalist.jpg

Stealing America

Something to infuriate everyone
Sunday, September 07, 2008  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2008 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group