New York, I Love You"Ten vignettes in New York City: a pickpocket meets his match; a young Hasidic woman, on the eve of her marriage, reveals herself to an Indian businessman; a writer tries a pick-up line; an artist seeks a model; a composer needs to read; two women connect; a man takes a child to Central Park; lovers meet; a couple takes a walk on their anniversary; a kid goes to the prom with a girl in a wheelchair; a retired singer contemplates suicide. There are eight million stories in the naked city: these have been ten of them."
4 Stars
This isn’t a movie for the casual viewer. Hell, this isn’t even a movie, it’s a film. It’s very important that your understand that going in. It’s not going to have your normal plot lines and story arcs, and there isn’t really going to be a resolution at the end. The way that I interpret it is that this is a snap shot of several lives. This is a film compiled of 10 very different segments directed by 10 very different filmmakers with one unifying theme, the hope for love. Because of this, your opinion of the film needs to be based on the whole thing instead of each segment because it truly is a sum of its parts.
Technically this is a “sequel” to the film Paris je t’aime (Paris, I Love You). I haven’t seen that film, but I do plan to because I think it will give me a better perspective on this film. Because the stories are so different, I think each viewer’s experience will be unique. Some people may end up taking different things from the stories than I did. Some segments that I hated may be the ones that you most connect with, and I think that’s really the point of the movie. That being said, here is my quick rundown of the stories:
SEGMENT 1 – This one is forgettable. Andy Garcia still plays the role of “intimidating man” to a T. If God himself were to square off with Andy Garcia, I truly think he could make the Almighty cry. Unfortunately he’s the only good thing in this segment. As usual Hayden Christensen exemplifies the stereotype that you don’t have to be a good actor as long as you’re pretty. Rachel Bilson tries to make her performance memorable, but it feels forced and she and Christiansen just look like rookies in the presences of a veteran Garcia.
SEGMENT 2 – This one is confusing. It feels like it is trying to convey something meaningful, but I just can’t discern what that is. Natalie Portman and Irrfan Khan portray two people who seem imprisoned by the life paths they have been forced to choose. Their only way of coping with the suppressed sadness is trough witty, sometimes sexual banter they exchange in their business dealings with one another.
SEGMENT 3 – This is another one that’s just forgettable. Orlando Bloom does a good job at playing the starving artist trying to stay true to himself, but the mysterious chemistry that he and Christina Ricci develop through a phone relationship completely fizzles to me when they finally meet face to face.
SEGMENT 4 – This one is GREAT! The entire story is just a dialogue between Ethan Hawke and Maggie Q on a New York street corner, but it stands head and shoulders above the rest. The writing is at a level I haven’t seen in a while in any film, and the back and forth between Hawke and Q really develops it into something poignant. Plus there is a slight twist at the end that really makes it one of if not THE best vignettes out there.
SEGMENT 5 – Can’t say too much about this one. Don’t get me wrong, I think Anton Yelchin and Olivia Thirlby are two solid up and comers in Hollywood, but I can’t see any reason that they included this story line other than for comedic relief.
SEGMENT 6 – This is the ones that seems the most “real” to me. Bradley Cooper and Drea de Matteo separately re-hash the one night stand they just spent together and struggle to decide if they should risk ruining a perfect memory with an attempt to recreate it.
SEGMENT 7 – I really need someone to explain this one to me. It seems like a very artsy, dramatic story full of metaphors, but again I wasn’t able to get my head around it. I almost found myself going out and buying the Cliff’s Notes just so I could figure out what exactly happened in the story. Visually, though, I have to admit it was beautiful.
SEGMENT 8 – This one was very different than all the rest in the sense that “love” in this story was really about the platonic love between a father and daughter. It was pretty brief, but definitely carried enough weight to be able tug at the heart strings a little bit.
SEGMENT 9 – Another artsy-er segment and, ironically enough, this one centered around an actual artist. It’s kind of interesting because neither the artist nor the muse that he has chosen can really communicate because they don’t speak the same language. Even without words, though, they seem to have a relationship that connects them more than most.
SEGMENT 4 (PART II) – I’m not sure why these two stories were considered the same segment because they don’t really tie in together which is why I am saying it is Part II. In this portion of the segment, Chris Cooper and Robyn Wright Penn have an intriguing conversation about how relationships can change over time and whether marriage really is for everyone.
SEGMENT 10 – This may take the title as my favorite. Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman are old school Hollywood icons that I could watch anytime. Their portrayal of an aging married couple is definitely one that will make you smile, laugh, and even maybe cry.
So, with all these different stories, what can you really say about the film? For starters it’s unique. It’s fun but sad. It’s random but precise. It’s overwhelming but lacking. It’s narcissistic but humble. It’s eye-rolling but tender. It’s vibrant. It’s desolate. It’s uplifting. It’s depressing. It’s intense. It’s dull. It’s real. It’s fake. . . . It’s New York.
4 Stars
This isn’t a movie for the casual viewer. Hell, this isn’t even a movie, it’s a film. It’s very important that your understand that going in. It’s not going to have your normal plot lines and story arcs, and there isn’t really going to be a resolution at the end. The way that I interpret it is that this is a snap shot of several lives. This is a film compiled of 10 very different segments directed by 10 very different filmmakers with one unifying theme, the hope for love. Because of this, your opinion of the film needs to be based on the whole thing instead of each segment because it truly is a sum of its parts.
Technically this is a “sequel” to the film Paris je t’aime (Paris, I Love You). I haven’t seen that film, but I do plan to because I think it will give me a better perspective on this film. Because the stories are so different, I think each viewer’s experience will be unique. Some people may end up taking different things from the stories than I did. Some segments that I hated may be the ones that you most connect with, and I think that’s really the point of the movie. That being said, here is my quick rundown of the stories:
SEGMENT 1 – This one is forgettable. Andy Garcia still plays the role of “intimidating man” to a T. If God himself were to square off with Andy Garcia, I truly think he could make the Almighty cry. Unfortunately he’s the only good thing in this segment. As usual Hayden Christensen exemplifies the stereotype that you don’t have to be a good actor as long as you’re pretty. Rachel Bilson tries to make her performance memorable, but it feels forced and she and Christiansen just look like rookies in the presences of a veteran Garcia.
SEGMENT 2 – This one is confusing. It feels like it is trying to convey something meaningful, but I just can’t discern what that is. Natalie Portman and Irrfan Khan portray two people who seem imprisoned by the life paths they have been forced to choose. Their only way of coping with the suppressed sadness is trough witty, sometimes sexual banter they exchange in their business dealings with one another.
SEGMENT 3 – This is another one that’s just forgettable. Orlando Bloom does a good job at playing the starving artist trying to stay true to himself, but the mysterious chemistry that he and Christina Ricci develop through a phone relationship completely fizzles to me when they finally meet face to face.
SEGMENT 4 – This one is GREAT! The entire story is just a dialogue between Ethan Hawke and Maggie Q on a New York street corner, but it stands head and shoulders above the rest. The writing is at a level I haven’t seen in a while in any film, and the back and forth between Hawke and Q really develops it into something poignant. Plus there is a slight twist at the end that really makes it one of if not THE best vignettes out there.
SEGMENT 5 – Can’t say too much about this one. Don’t get me wrong, I think Anton Yelchin and Olivia Thirlby are two solid up and comers in Hollywood, but I can’t see any reason that they included this story line other than for comedic relief.
SEGMENT 6 – This is the ones that seems the most “real” to me. Bradley Cooper and Drea de Matteo separately re-hash the one night stand they just spent together and struggle to decide if they should risk ruining a perfect memory with an attempt to recreate it.
SEGMENT 7 – I really need someone to explain this one to me. It seems like a very artsy, dramatic story full of metaphors, but again I wasn’t able to get my head around it. I almost found myself going out and buying the Cliff’s Notes just so I could figure out what exactly happened in the story. Visually, though, I have to admit it was beautiful.
SEGMENT 8 – This one was very different than all the rest in the sense that “love” in this story was really about the platonic love between a father and daughter. It was pretty brief, but definitely carried enough weight to be able tug at the heart strings a little bit.
SEGMENT 9 – Another artsy-er segment and, ironically enough, this one centered around an actual artist. It’s kind of interesting because neither the artist nor the muse that he has chosen can really communicate because they don’t speak the same language. Even without words, though, they seem to have a relationship that connects them more than most.
SEGMENT 4 (PART II) – I’m not sure why these two stories were considered the same segment because they don’t really tie in together which is why I am saying it is Part II. In this portion of the segment, Chris Cooper and Robyn Wright Penn have an intriguing conversation about how relationships can change over time and whether marriage really is for everyone.
SEGMENT 10 – This may take the title as my favorite. Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman are old school Hollywood icons that I could watch anytime. Their portrayal of an aging married couple is definitely one that will make you smile, laugh, and even maybe cry.
So, with all these different stories, what can you really say about the film? For starters it’s unique. It’s fun but sad. It’s random but precise. It’s overwhelming but lacking. It’s narcissistic but humble. It’s eye-rolling but tender. It’s vibrant. It’s desolate. It’s uplifting. It’s depressing. It’s intense. It’s dull. It’s real. It’s fake. . . . It’s New York.
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