Love is in the air a second time. How does it smell in the big apple?
Hayden Christensen: Ben
Andy Garcia: Garry
Rachel Bilson: Molly
Bradley Cooper: Gus
Natalie Portman: Rifka
Irrfan Khan: Mansuhkhbai
Orlando Bloom: David
Christina Ricci: Camille
Anton Yelchin: Boy in the Park
Olivia Thirlby: Girl in the wheelchair
James Caan: Mr. Riccoli
Ethan Hawke: Writer
Maggie Q: Woman on the Street
Julie Christie: Isabelle
John Hurt: Waiter
Shia LaBeouf: Jacob
Eli Wallach: Abe
Cloris Leachman: Mitzie
Drea de Matteo: Lydia
Chris Cooper: Alex
Robin Wright Penn: Anna
Director of Transitions: Randall Balsmeyer
Concept By: Emmanuel Benbihy
Premise By: Tristan Carne
Release Date: October 16, 2009
Running Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Rated R for language and sexual content.
New York, I Love You is the second installment of Emmanuel Benbihy’s global explorations of love. I still remember fondly watching Paris, Je T’aime on the big screen, being enthralled by how truly special each short was. Following that lead would be tough for anyone, but Benbihy and his writers have moved the concept to New York City, where viewers can be introduced to an assortment of eccentric people and neighborhoods. The result is not as masterful and refreshing as Paris, Je T’aime , but the vast array of styles and ideas still offers imaginative tales and an overall worthwhile film.
Paris, Je T’aime found the right balance between the quality of the directors and the quality of the casts. Nevertheless, it was the filmmakers time to shine, and they triumphed beautifully. New York, I Love You makes some changes to the format we fell in love with previously. First is that the star caliber is higher, while the directors are more unknown in many cases. This is fine, as it allows green filmmakers the chance to prove their talents, while still throwing in the intermittent famous director to have fun with a short. The most notable faces at the helm this time are Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner, and Mira Nair. The line-up is a jarring transition from the Coens, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, and Alfonso Cuaron, among others.
New York, I Love You was shot over a period of 36 days. The 10 filmmakers were given three guidelines: They had only 24-48 hours to shoot, a week to edit, and they needed to give a sense of a particular neighborhood. The shorts are around 10-12 minutes in length each, give or take a minute. In my mind it is misleading to summarize a few and leave the rest out, so here are my brief thoughts on all of them. Noticeable as well are the absences of titles. This time, the name of the director acts as the title for each segment, but more on that later. His or her name will appear in bold italics.
Jiang Wen – This strange short has a young man named Ben meeting a girl in a bar. He has a cell phone she left behind, and starts a conversation that is interrupted by her boyfriend. Wen instills a rather slick methodology here that I dug, and Garcia and Christensen have a solid chemistry as foes.