My Blueberry Nights

"Lovesick" could be used to describe every film Wong Kar Wai has made since 1988's As Tears Go By. In My Blueberry Nights, his first English-language feature, the Hong Kong filmmaker continues his amorous fixation. In her acting debut, Grammy award-winning vocalist Norah Jones plays heartbroken New Yorker Elizabeth, who deflects her sorrow eating handmade pies served up by sympathetic café owner Jeremy (Jude Law), after her boyfriend takes up with another woman. Although Lizzie appreciates Jeremy's support, she eventually decides to leave town, hopping a bus to Memphis, where she waitresses while serving as a sounding board for hard drinking police officer Arnie (David Strathairn), who pines for his estranged wife Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz). Later, Beth—as she now calls herself—will try her luck in Las Vegas, where she joins forces with professional poker player Leslie (a bleach blonde Natalie Portman). During her journey, Elizabeth continues to send Jeremy postcards without return addresses, and her wistful words cause him to fall in love. Backed by Ry Cooder's plaintive score (bolstered by languid tunes from Jones and Cat Power, who plays Jeremy's ex-girlfriend) and golden-hued camera work from Darius Khondji, My Blueberry Nights reaches for the elegiac tone of Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas, but even if the film doesn't always work, few filmmakers render lovesickness more vividly. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a 19-minute “Q&A with Director Wong Kar Wai,” a 16-minute “making-of” featurette, a stills gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.] (K. Fennessy)