Ryan McNeil
Forward: NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU was brought to the Toronto International Film Festival as a work in progress. Please take my thoughts below with a grain of salt since the film is incomplete.
They say there are a million stories to be told in the city that never sleeps, and here we stand witness to twelve of them. NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU follows in the footsteps of 2006’s PARIS JE T’AIME by letting several small stories interweave themselves with the overlaying theme of love in The Big Apple.
What’s interesting about this movie, is how the chapters are so different. It often works in the film’s favour, since it echoes the diversity of the city itself. However, it also works against it in places, since some of the shorts don’t seem to quite fit with the others. For example, the segment directed by Shekhar Kapur starring John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf, and Julie Christie. It is as elegant as anything I’ve ever watched on screen – but so radically different from all the other chapters in every way possible that it seems to stick out.
The stories themselves work well together, since they all take different angles on the subjects of love, life, and loss. Some are quite playful – like a tale of teenage connection Olivia Thirlby and Anton Yelchin. Others are quite reflective – like bit about a loner played intriguingly by Kevin Bacon. I think what I liked most about the film, was the way many of the characters overlapped into several stories, echoing the way our lives inevitably stray into one anothers if only for the briefest of moments.
Some of the transitions are a little harsh, there’s a few too many shots of the city skyline, and some music cues are a tad jarring. However, given that the film is still incomplete, I imagine these are the sort of wrinkles still being ironed out. The producers were on hand to introduce the film, and mentioned that they hope to continue this series with future films set in Shanghai and Jerusalem. Despite the restless pack of disinterested buyers, I truly hope that they do, since ambitions and unique features like these make for a wonderful break from the multiplex monotony.
NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU plays TIFF once more and does not yet have a confirmed release date.
Damn! I would have loved to see this with you! I didn’t know it was on the TIFF list. It has Shia… sigh…
How come you never sent me a list??