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New York, I Love You (2009)
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Rating:
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| Starring: |
Andy Garcia,
Ethan Hawke,
Natalie Portman,
Christina Ricci,
Irrfan Khan,
Cloris Leachman,
Robin Wright Penn,
Julie Christie,
Maggie Q,
Rachel Bilson,
Olivia Thirlby,
Taylor Geare,
Emilie Ohana
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| Director:
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| Category: |
Comedy,
Drama
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| Studio: |
Vivendi Visual Entertainment
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Subtitles: |
English
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Length: |
103 mins
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New York, I Love You feels as patchy as its experimental premise. Riffing on Paris, je t'aime, this film comprises several segments seeking to reflect the Big Apple's diversity and unlikely relationships forged through it. Ten directors had two days to shoot and one week to edit individual segments that are linked by transitions. As a result, the film has a haphazard visual aesthetic, which works to various degrees. The best segments are those that show odd characters navigating the city in unique ways. The first sequence, shot by Mira Nair, features Rifka (Natalie Portman), a Hassid buying her wedding jewels from Jain gem dealer Mansuhkhbai (Irrfan Khan). While these two at first antagonize one another, the common ground they discover is a source of great comedy. Joshua Marston's segment featuring Mitzie (Cloris Leachman) and Abe (Eli Wallach), an elderly Jewish couple squabbling their way down the street, is both endearing and a tribute to a familiar scenario. Another segment that successfully depicts New York life is director Brett Ratner's, in which a nosy pharmacist, played by James Caan, recruits a trustworthy high school student (Anton Yelchin) to take his wheelchair-bound daughter (Olivia Thirlby) to the prom. Other segments feel completely random. Shekhar Kapur's mysterious piece about a concert pianist, Isabelle (Julie Christie), and her rendezvous with waiter Jacob (Shia LaBeouf), is melodramatic and doesn't channel New York enough to be apparent. Overall, New York, I Love You feels like a washed-out Woody Allen attempt in terms of clever dialogue, though each viewer may find favorite sequences in those few humorous or touching moments when the film does succeed. --Trinie Dalton
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