ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

WONG KAR WAI is the director behind languid tales of romance and longing like In The Mood For Love. His English-language debut My Blueberry Nights explores familiar territory but the American settings make it seem much more conventional. Fans of his earlier work can only feel a pang of disappointment and others may wonder what all the fuss has been about.

Singer Norah Jones makes a respectable acting debut as Elizabeth. Reeling from the end of a five year relationship, she takes sanctuary in a New York cafe owned by Englishman Jeremy (Jude Law). He provides her with blueberry pie and a sympathetic ear as they share stories about life and love.

Elizabeth subsequently takes to the road, working as a waitress and barmaid and meeting a number of individuals who have suffered much more than her.

My Blueberry Nights does look fantastic, and boasts an amazing cast that includes David Strathairn as lovelorn policeman Arnie, Rachel Weisz as his estranged wife Sue and Natalie Portman as a high stakes Las Vegas poker player Leslie, who takes more risks gambling than she ever does in life. All of them have something to teach Elizabeth about the complex workings of the human heart.

Collaborating with crime writer Lawrence Block, Wong has created a film with some wit and charm but those qualities are not enough to overcome the lack of originality in some of the romantic stories and the sense that this is the director revisiting his greatest hits in the much less seductive context of a lush American road movie.

Selected Nationwide release

Director: Wong Kar Wai
Stars: Norah Jones, Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, Chan Marshall
Screenwriter: Wong Kar Wai, Lawrence Block
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 111 mins
Country: USA
Year: 2007