I had the opportunity to view a screener of "New York Lately", and as a life-long New Yorker, even by way of Jersey, I was quite impressed with the minute details of life in our urban wonderland. Gary King has a unique visual flair and voice, sprinkling bits of his favorite auteurs to tell intimate stories about a group of people that connect in only that haphazard and synergistic way that happens in the Big Apple. Filmed on the man's own dime, a truly independent NYC production like we used to have in the olden glory days (trust me, I been there) the bravado performances, individual stories, score and fine camera-work mesh together to rise above simple slice of life and into something deep and at times quite moving. Definitely worth a watch, it's got a little bit of emotion for everyone. Check it out on the festival circuit, hopefully in a town near you and if it's not start writing letters and calling people. I hear they like that.
2 Reviews
When strangers meet
blumdeluxe7 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"New York Lately" is more or less a portrait of a city and the people who live within its borders. They go to work, they meet and fall in love, they suffer, betray and search for a meaning.
The movie tells all this through a variety of characters, each following his own path and at several occasions crossing the paths of other characters. Of course this is nothing this title establishes, but is by now a well known concept, especially in films that deal with the issue of a rather anonymous city and how people find their place in it. I can't judge, in how far the film manages to catch the special flair that New York as a city spreads, since I'm not a New Yorker and my two days visit as a child can barely be a basement for my judgment. In general, unfortunately I had the feeling that not every path worked out as it was probably imagined. While some characters were quite easy to connect with, others remained a bit superficial.
All in all the movie has its moments but I have to say that there are other films, that in my eye adapted the concept of different characters intermingling a bit better. Still this not a bad movie at all, and if the topic interests you, give it a try.
The movie tells all this through a variety of characters, each following his own path and at several occasions crossing the paths of other characters. Of course this is nothing this title establishes, but is by now a well known concept, especially in films that deal with the issue of a rather anonymous city and how people find their place in it. I can't judge, in how far the film manages to catch the special flair that New York as a city spreads, since I'm not a New Yorker and my two days visit as a child can barely be a basement for my judgment. In general, unfortunately I had the feeling that not every path worked out as it was probably imagined. While some characters were quite easy to connect with, others remained a bit superficial.
All in all the movie has its moments but I have to say that there are other films, that in my eye adapted the concept of different characters intermingling a bit better. Still this not a bad movie at all, and if the topic interests you, give it a try.
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