DVD review: Blue Jasmine

Australian actress Cate Blanchett has been the Oscar favourite for months for her portrayal of boozy, irrational fallen socialite Jasmine.

Directed by controversial director Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine gives Blanchett a powerful vehicle to showcase her acting talents, for which she won a Best Actress award at the Baftas.

We meet Jasmine in the present but find out how she came to be there through a series of flashbacks to explain her dramatic fall from grace.

Jasmine had it all - the money, the prestige, the high-flying friends, the houses, the possessions.

And although Jasmine was happy to accept the life her husband Hal (Alec Baldwin) was providing for her, she was reluctant to understand where the wealth came from.

Jasmine was also unwilling to believe Hal could be unfaithful to her.

But slowly the walls of her opulent life started falling down as infidelity and then the law caught up with Hal.

Leaving New York behind, Jasmine must call on her half-sister in San Francisco to take her in.

Ginger (Sally Hawkins) is everything Jasmine is not - a down-to-earth, working-class woman who enjoys a laugh and a beer.

To save her sanity, Jasmine must find a way out of this life as soon as she can, any way she can.

There is no doubt Blanchett steals the show here with an outstanding performance as a character who is difficult to feel any sympathy for.

(M) Universal

Watch the full trailer here: