Hi,
Originally from Germany, I received my BA from the U of Washington (Seattle). I am a playwrig...
Hi,
Originally from Germany, I received my BA from the U of Washington (Seattle). I am a playwright, translator, and sometimes poet with a passion for movies and literature.
I love to travel, anything that isn't too mainstream (though there are s...
Member since:21.06.2000
Reviews:60
Members who trust:13
When MGM did announce that there weren't going to be any advance screenings of "Autumn In New York", rumors started spreading. Director Joan Chen's ("Xiu Xiu") second movie must be a dud. MGM's reasoning was that there are plot twists that needed protecting. I have to say that MGM has a point. I don't want to know the whole story before I go and see a movie, either. Hence, I won't tell you about that sacred plot twist.
Is "Autumn In New York" as bad as some predicted it to be? For someone, who likes Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, it sure is tough to say anything less than favourable about this movie. However, I have to say that how Allison Burnett got away with what looks like a first draft of a script is everybody's guess. There's absolutely no dramatic tension, the characters are stock characters with next to zero development, and the minor characters seem to be added to fluff the whole thing up so that this brittle skeleton of a story could fill up
104 minutes. If it weren't for Changwei Gu's beautiful cinematography and Gere's and Ryder's perfomances, this movie would indeed be a total disaster. Nevertheless, I found myself checking my watch and sighing in disbelief. This thin story has no clear place to go and, hell, it crawls there.
48-year-old Will Keane (Richard Gere) meets Charlotte (Winona Ryder) as she celebrates her 22nd birthday in his posh Manhattan restaurant. Her grandmother Dolly (Elaine Stritch) knows Will from when he had dated her daughter, Charlotte's late mother, and introduces him to the party. Will is smitten with the dark-eyed beauty and calls her up a few days later.
What follows is the most ridiculous scene imaginable. Since Charlotte creates hats, he calls her up to order a hat for his date to wear to a high brow benefit. Things like colour or style of his date's gown that this hat ought to match (one would assume) aren't discussed. The hat should somehow be "like the line of a woman's hip". How's that for an order? (I guess it wasn't important since the date was only imaginary.)
He invites Charlotte to take his date's place. Looking like Prince Charming and Cinderella, they can't help but fall madly in love, of course. As it gets close to their first kiss, Charlotte breathes so heavily, one wonders if she's indeed a closet smoker. But no, right after they spent the night together she tells him that she's dying, she has maybe a year to live.
Turns out the heavy breathing was because the air had disappeared from the plot. Remember "Love Story"? A tender romance that leads to marriage and then rises to high drama when Ali McGraw's Jennifer is diagnosed with a terminal illness and hubby Oliver can't help her. Or take "Untamed Heart", where Christian Slater's Adam has severe heart troubles. There is slow build up and uncertain foreshadowing, until we reach the heart-breaking end. His girlfriend gets to know him and his story well and so does the audience.
"Autumn In New York" has two strangers fall in lust and next thing you know the girl spills the news about her heart disease. What could be following? She can't possibly survive; even Hollywood wouldn't dare being that cheesy, or would it? What follows is a lot of talk surrounding her illness and the problems their age difference might create. However, they never have any real problems in connection with their ages; only more superficial dialogue with other people.
The trailer claims that Charlotte teaches Will how to "love". She doesn't quite accomplish that, because to the end he still always thinks about what he wants and what he needs.
It is hard to believe that Gabriel Yared, who was showered with nominations for his musical score of "The Talented Mr. Ripley", is also responsible for the score of "Autumn In New York". His sound was at times so melodramatic that it didn't help the picture, but underlined its weaknesses.
Thankfully, director Joan Chen is back to what she does slightly better -- acting. She next appears in Gurinder Chadha's fluff called "What's Cooking"; at least she does less harm there than when she's directing.
"Autumn In New York" does deliver eye-candy and is a tearjerker, there's no doubt about that. If the audience is sniffling about the story or the waste of a lot of good talent, well, you be the judge of that.
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Autumn in New Yorkis a by-the-numberslove story, right down to its opening shot of, yes, ... more
autumn in New York. Richard Gere stars as restaurateur/lady's man Will, while Winona Ryder plays the airy-fairy, oh-too-delicate-for-this-world Charlotte. Will is ...
Postage & Packaging: Check Site. Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
New York restaurateur Will Keane (Richard Gere) is an infamous verging-on-50 playboy ... more
master of the no-commitment seduction - until he runs into an unexpected dead end when he meets Charlotte Fielding (Winona Ryder). Charlotte is half Will's age and tw...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Autumn In New York [DVD] [2001]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78539258.jpg "Autumn In New York [DVD] [2001]")
Dec 12th, 2000
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