---
title: "Blue Jasmine: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/blue-jasmine/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/blue-jasmine"
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 23
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Blue Jasmine (2013): what the critics said

Critics' score 81 from 23 reviews: 20 positive, 1 mixed, 2 negative.

Most critics greet Blue Jasmine as a strong return to form for Woody Allen, with praise centred on Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of a fallen socialite caught in self-deception. The reviews repeatedly credit her with making Jasmine’s anxiety, entitlement and distress believable, while many also praise the supporting cast. Admirers find the mixture of bitter comedy and tragedy affecting, and see the treatment of class, greed and denial as unusually pointed.

The spread is wide despite the strongly positive majority, with reservations clustering around contrived plotting and thinly drawn supporting characters. For some, Blanchett carries a script that does not always match her; others admire the structure but find the characters unconvincing. The Financial Times objects to the film’s artificiality and simplistic social divisions, while The Wrap finds that it fails to hold together. Even these dissenting reviews praise Blanchett, making her performance the clearest point of agreement.

## Little White Lies — David Jenkins

Rating 2/5/5. 12 September 2013. 

Blanchett delivers a career-best turn as the narcissistic, broken Jasmine in what may be Allen's finest work. The film stands out as a raw, contemporary tragedy centered on class, self-delusion and irreversible decline.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/blue-jasmine)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Rating 5/5. 19 September 2013. 

Bradshaw calls it a late triumph for Allen, an outstanding and absorbing movie with a magnificently watchable lead performance by Cate Blanchett as the self-deluding socialite and superb supporting turns. He highlights the bittersweet comedy, depth, pathos and resurgent maturity in the storytelling.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/19/blue-jasmine-review)

## The Independent

Rating 5/5. 27 September 2013. 

The critic calls it a small miracle and autumnal drama, praising Cate Blanchett's magnificent performance as the fallen socialite Jasmine above all else.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-review-blue-jasmine-cate-blanchett-delivers-astounding-performance-as-fallen-park-avenue-princess-8842086.html)

## Empire — Simon Braund

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 September 2013. 

The review hails it as Allen's best in years, praising the incisive brilliance, Blanchett's powerhouse performance, and its astute observations on society and deceit.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/blue-jasmine-review/)

## Film Comment — Amy Taubin

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 

Allen’s best film in years is a dark social satire driven by Blanchett’s towering central performance as a deluded socialite undone by her husband’s crimes and her own disavowals. The critic singles out Blanchett’s raw, human portrayal of mental unraveling for particular praise.

[Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-blue-jasmine-woody-allen/)

## The New Yorker — David Denby

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 July 2013. 

The critic views the film as a brilliant contemporary homage to 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' with Cate Blanchett giving a mesmerizing, complex performance as the delusional Jasmine. He singles out Allen's sharp social commentary on class and inequality as making it his strongest and most resonant film in years.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/timely-projects)

## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis

Rating Critic's Pick. 25 July 2013. 

The critic praises Cate Blanchett's riveting performance as the fallen socialite Jasmine and calls the film Woody Allen's most sustained and resonant work since 'Match Point.' She highlights its moral fable on greed and comeuppance while noting the strong ensemble and thematic depth.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/movies/cate-blanchett-stars-in-woody-allens-blue-jasmine.html)

## Slant Magazine — Nick McCarthy

Rating 3.5/4. 21 July 2013. 

The critic sees it as one of Allen's strongest and most pointed films in over a decade, centered on a complex psychological portrait of entitlement and denial. Blanchett's lead performance is singled out as exceptionally well-cast and nuanced despite some underdeveloped supporting characters and occasional narrative clunkiness.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/blue-jasmine/)

## Variety — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 July 2013. 

The critic lauds Cate Blanchett's tour-de-force, bipolar performance as the unraveling Jasmine and praises the film's balance of rueful humor, emotional depth, and class satire. He notes strong supporting turns and Allen's skillful update of familiar themes as a meaty return to American soil.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-blue-jasmine-1200563873/)

## Sight and Sound — Nick Pinkerton

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 2013. 

Allen makes contact with contemporary hard times and assembles his best recent cast for a tragi-comic study of delusion and downfall. Blanchett's performance as the unraveling socialite earns particular praise for its moving blend of farce and tragedy.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-blue-jasmine)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 July 2013. 

The critic calls it a fine character study among Allen's recent works and praises Blanchett's tour-de-force performance as the central achievement. Minor plot contrivances are noted but do not detract from the layered portrayal of the protagonist's unraveling.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/blue-jasmine-film-review-586287/)

## The Times

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2013. 

The review praises Blanchett's performance as Jasmine, a neurotic, selfish socialite brought low by her husband's fraud, calling it the best of her career as the film shifts from light comedy to tragedy, with strong emphasis on her central role.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/golden-girl-dlflktjhx7q)

## Time Out — Dave Calhoun

Rating 4/5. 16 September 2013. 

Allen delivers his strongest film in years, anchored by Blanchett's affecting, perfectly judged performance as the brittle socialite whose world collapses. The knotty, blackly comic story of family, fraud and self-deception avoids easy answers.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/blue-jasmine)

## Total Film — Jamie Graham

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2013. 

It is described as a handsomely shot, structurally deft dramedy with a terrific performance from Blanchett that makes the character understandable, blending rigour and vigour as one of late-period Woody's best.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/blue-jasmine-review/)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 July 2013. Festival review. 

A nimble, glancingly funny examination of existential crisis and self-delusion anchored by Blanchett's superlative, wound-up performance. The film shows perceptive dramatic insight into the pull of the love and status one feels entitled to.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/blue-jasmine/5058406.article)

## Vulture — David Edelstein

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 26 July 2013. 

The review finds Allen's drama comes close to feeling like a wheeze but is sold beautifully through Blanchett's performance as a modern Blanche DuBois figure. It highlights the strong supporting turns and the film's effective updating of Streetcar themes with a Madoff twist.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/07/movie-review-blue-jasmine.html)

## Financial Times

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 2013. 

The critic finds Blue Jasmine combines what one wants from Woody Allen with what one does not, praising the look, some performances including Blanchett and Hawkins, and clever structure but criticising its confected quality, lack of funny lines, social Manichaeism and overall offence.

[Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/210d3e80-268f-11e3-9dc0-00144feab7de)

## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape

Rating 5/5. 23 September 2013. 

The critic calls it one of Allen's darkest and most accomplished films, praising the masterful screenplay structure with flashbacks and emotional depth. Blanchett and Hawkins deliver breathtaking performances in this character-driven piece about class and personal downfall.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/blue-jasmine-review/)

## Eye for Film — Jeff Robson

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 2013. 

The critic hails it as a return to form and step forward with the wit and insight of Allen's classics, blending rawness, warmth, shrewdness and humour. Blanchett's performance turns a potentially monstrous character into a believable, complex human being.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/blue-jasmine-2013-film-review-by-jeff-robson)

## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff

Rating B+. 17 July 2013. 

The critic notes the script is sometimes clunky and uneven but highlights an outstanding, Oscar-worthy firecracker turn from Blanchett that makes the film raw-nerve stuff full of emotional pain. Supporting cast is strong and themes of class and delusion are sharply observed.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-woody-allens-blue-jasmine-starring-cate-blanchett-alec-baldwin-sally-hawkins-20130717/)

## Paste — Monica Castillo

Rating 7.8. 26 July 2013. 

The critic finds the film somber and bitter, almost too dark to enjoy, but praises Cate Blanchett's extraordinarily impressive performance as the anxious, elitist leading lady, noting the film's capture of a woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/blue-jasmine)

## Den of Geek — Paul Martinovic

Rating 3/5. 27 September 2013. 

Blue Jasmine has much to admire in its cast, structure and visual clarity but ultimately feels technically brilliant yet lacking in soul and credible characters. The critic praises the uniformly excellent ensemble, especially Andrew Dice Clay’s surprising pathos in a small role.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/blue-jasmine-review/)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 17 July 2013. 

The critic calls the film a mixed bag that finds Allen returning to a more serious tale, but notes it doesn't really hang together with underdeveloped supporting characters. Blanchett delivers a tour de force performance as the title character.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/blue-jasmine-review-something-borrowed-woody-allens-dull-blue-103946/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/blue-jasmine.md