Cate Blanchett has emerged as an early frontrunner for this year's best actress Oscar, following rave reviews for her performance in Blue Jasmine (2013).

The Woody Allen film recalls Tennessee Williams' classic play A Streetcar Named Desire, with Blanchett playing fallen New York socialite, Jasmine.

The film follows Jasmine, "a Park Avenue Princess", whose wealthy husband Hal (Alec Baldwin) winds up in jail as a result of dodgy business practices.

Falling on hard times, she moves in with her adopted sister, Ginger, who lives in a humble apartment in San Francisco. Depressed and addicted to alcohol and pills, Jasmine desperately tries to maintain the appearance of wealth and decorum, as the truth is gradually revealed.

"In Blanchett Woody Allen has found a female lead to rival Mia Farrow in Broadway Danny Rose," wrote Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian.

"She gives an electrical charge to this minor-key drama", added the critic, who called the film "pure movie-going pleasure"

Source: Press Release