Forever blowing bubbles.

Rating: 8/10 (21 April 2002)

****MINOR SPOILER****
Jazz is not one of my favourite genres of music. In fact I have never taken any interest in it before, and even after watching this film, which involves jazz as it's main theme, I still don't hold any interest. However, I did enjoy the film immensely.
Sean Penn plays the fictional Emmet Ray, a character created by Woody Allen. The character is a product of several real-life jazz musicians, which have been merged to form Ray. It is shot with interviews by Allen and others describing Emmet's life. It is quite convincing, and the first time that I watched the film I truly thought that Emmet Ray was a real-life character.
Sean Penn is excellent as Emmet Ray, an arrogant, cocky character, who says he only has one love- his art. He says that he is the greatest jazz musician in the world, apart from his idol Django Reinhardt. He is a womanizer, but he doesn't, or can't get close to any woman. But eventually he meets a mute laundress called Hattie. She is the only woman that holds his interest, but, every time she indicates that she wants more, Emmet backs off and tells her that he can't get further involved.
Sean Penn had never played the guitar before doing so in this film, so he had to learn how to play up to thirty jazz songs. Samantha Morton plays Hattie, and lends a sweet performance to the role. She has to show a lot of her emotions with her body language and her eyes due to her lack of speech. You sometimes dislike Emmet's treatment of her, but it is almost like he has a self defence mechanism to prevent him getting too close.
The film is often humorous in parts; Sean Penn's performance is comical at times, and even his arrogance comes across as funny. The film shows the real emotions of Emmet Ray at the end, when he realizes what he has lost. It shows that sometimes people can put on harsh fronts to hide their true feelings.
Uma Thurman also puts in a good turn as a writer who shows an avid interest in Ray.
Even If you don't like jazz, don't let this deter you from watching the film. There's more to it then just jazz. It has humour, and drama, and is quite emotional at times.