Kar-Wai Wong directs Norah Jones, Jude Law and Natalie Portman in this U.S. road movie where a dumped woman crosses the states witnessing different forms of heartbreak.

I first saw this in an arthouse cinema in Berlin with a water fountain in front of the screen that stopped spouting when the movie was due to start. Flawed but beautiful. The heightened emotions on display are a bit too comic book to be seduced by. The acting is broad and unconvincing. Jude tries an accent. Natalie doesn’t land it as a fifty-something, casino living, bleach blonde. Norah Jones is pretty and wistful but adds nothing to a blankly written lead role. The steamy trifle is however utterly gorgeous. Darius Khondji’s cinematography absorbs every artificial light, creating a kaleidoscope of warm colours. Cat Power’s The Greatest appears on the soundtrack as a pleasing recurring motif. And the pies look delicious.

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