First Hit: A moving, languidly paced, beautifully shot, and lingering film.
Nora Jones stars as Elizabeth a young woman who, after being jilted by her boyfriend and very hurt, wanders into a small New York neighborhood café where she and her past boyfriend use to eat.
The owner, Jeremy (played by Jude Law) remembers customers by what they order so she asks him if her boyfriend has been in lately. After determining, by food order type, who she is referring to, Jeremy says "yes", he’s been in here with someone else. She takes house keys out of her purse and asks Jeremy to give him to her former boyfriend next time he is in.
However Jeremy places them in a glass bowl with lots of other keys. Elizabeth, needing someone to talk with, comes back a few more nights as Jeremy is closing shop and they share some food, for her it’s Blueberry Pie because nobody else eats it.
During one visit, when she falls asleep with her head on the counter, you see Jeremy starting to fall in love with this beautiful, innocent, troubled creature. Elizabeth then leaves New York to find herself. Along the way she runs into Arnie (played by David Strathairn) a rejected alcoholic police officer and Sue Lynn his separated wife (played by Rachel Weisz).
The complications of their relationship and the pain they both are experiencing give Elizabeth something to learn from. Lastly she meets Leslie (played by Natalie Portman) who is a gambler with an “I’ve got the world by the balls” demeanor but all the while hiding a hurt daughter inside.
All these characters learn from Elizabeth as much as she learns from them.
Wong Kar-wai directed this film with a very caring hand. Staying with shots of people’s faces and scenes for longer than usual so that the audience sees and feels the changes the actors are going through. There are also a couple of shots done at an interesting angle which I found intriguing. Nora Jones is very good in her acting debut as Elizabeth. David Strathairn and Rachel Weisz are excellent as a confused addicted couple showing both resentment and a deep love for each other. Natalie Portman is, as always, great in this role as a troubled daughter attempting to escape and embrace life all at once. Jude Law is very good as Elizabeth’s touchstone and his patience in waiting for Elizabeth made me smile.
Overall: Once I settled into the pace of this film I was truly surprised at how well this film was crafted.