Norah Jones, daughter of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, has received mostly negative reviews for her work in the bleak love story of sorts. It marks the English-language debut of Hong Kong-based filmmaker Wong Kar Wai.
Blueberry Nights arrived in America and will become a modest art-house hit. Fans of Norah Jones may wonder if she made the right choice.
There is a case to be made for saying Jones made a wrong career choice, and should have chosen a film with popular appeal. Also, that she should not have accepted a film where she had to compete with Oscar-winning actor Rachel Weisz, who plays the seductive, hard-drinking, estranged wife of an equally alcoholic cop.
Jones comes off second best in the film not only because of Weisz, but also due to the excellent presence of another smart young actor, Natalie Portman.
Interestingly, buzz was that though Jones wanted to take some acting lessons, her director banned that, saying he wanted her to be 'natural'.
Those who know Jones well say she is not in a great hurry to be an actor, and that music remains her first, and greater, love. She had accepted the film because the filmmaker had rightly insisted that the role she played was written keeping her in mind.
Blueberry Nights has the multiple Grammy-winning Jones as a lovelorn woman on a journey of self-discovery, while travelling across America. The film is slowly expanding across the country, and could end its run with just about $10 million.
'Blueberry Pie is a metaphor for what's left when the day is done, but what the film really invites is a raspberry,' wrote BBC.com Though the British press has traditionally been kinder to Jones than counterparts in the US, the BBC minced no words in its review.
'Passive to the point of inertia, Elizabeth (Jones) has little impact on the people she meets or their tragic lives,' the review said. 'But the heartbreak she witnesses at least puts her own into perspective, something Jones conveys with an unforced naturalism that helps offset her acting inexperience.'
She has not signed any film since. It could be Hollywood is not too enamoured of her skills. It could also be that Jones, who has had a strenuous year filled with music, the movie and the emotional roller coaster, wants some downtime.
It is moot whether Jones is looking for another film role, but she certainly could be looking for a new flame. Tabloids and gossip magazines have reported that the 28-year-old singer has split from bassist and long-term boyfriend Lee Alexander. The split happened just before the festive holidays, when he moved out of the apartment they shared, the New York Post reported.
