New York I Love You
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Rachel Bilson, Cloris Leachman - and a host more
Director: Natalie Portman, Anthony Minghella - and a host more
New York - a diverse city and a collection of cultures.
New York, I Love You - a diverse collection of stories all tied together by the city they're set in. And a sequel of sorts to Paris, Je T'Aime.
This film's comprised of 11 stories of around 10 minutes long and they cover a whole range of story topics - the only ever common theme is NY itself.
And it's not just a wealth of acting talent involved too, there's a whole heap of directors - including the late Anthony Minghella (to whom the film's dedicated.)
As with any collection of anthologies and like a box of chocolates, there's some good ones and some duds that you tolerate. But as the stories themselves are only 10 minutes long, it means if you're ever bored or irritated by one of them, another one's knocking in the wings waiting for your attention.
Some are more successful than others - I loved the sparkle and sleight of hand of the story of Anton Yelchin's dumped boyfriend off to the prom; thanks to some crackle and rug from under your feet moments, there's a lot to love about this story where not everything is what it seems.
Likewise, the story of OAPs Abe and Mitzie has a universality around it - and many of us will recognise something of themselves in their tale.
The less successful segments sadly make the 10 minutes a difficult ask - Orlando Bloom and Christina Ricci's tale of books and connections doesn't work as well as it could; but to be honest the diamonds outweigh the lumps of coal.
Sure, there are some common links to these vignettes; characters who drop in and out of frames - but each story is its own beast.
Stringed together by some obligatory shots (and at times unoriginal shots) of the skylines, of life in the city, of shapes and jazz New York I Love You has excellently conveyed the feel of the Big Apple and will find you lost in them for around 100 minutes.
