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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some Tough Issues To Deal With, August 28, 2000
An unlikely romance lies at the heart of "Autumn In New York," a visually poetic film directed by Joan Chen and starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder as the couple who defy the odds of a difference in age and the knowledge that time is not on their side to pursue that most elusive butterfly, love. Gere is Will, a successful restaurant owner who, at 48, falls for the much younger Charlotte (Ryder). Whether or not it can or will work is the question; Will has a history with Charlotte's late mother, the fact of which her grandmother, Dolly (Elaine Stritch), fails to inform her, not that it would have had a direct influence on the romance in any case. For who among us can define love or explain it? And who can really explain how and why these two come together in the first place? Will is a notorious womanizer, while Charlotte has a singular issue of her own with which to deal. When it comes right down to it, and with everything considered, all bets should be off. but it's autumn, not only in New York, but in the lives of Will and Charlotte as well. Cinematically, New York City has rarely looked more beautiful; this is not the city of "West Side Story," but a lyrical land of myriad colors and picturesque vistas. Beyond the chill of the season there is an alluring warmth to the surroundings that contrast splendidly with the more dire, unsettling events unfolding within the story. The performances of Gere and Ryder are outstanding, but just how successfully these characters will connect with an audience is open to question. Whether or not you will be able to sympathize or identify with them will depend heavily on your own personal state of mind and frame of reference. To like Will, one must be willing and able to forgive much; it's a tough character not to pass judgment on. Unlike "Scrooge" you get the feeling that Christmas may not last throughout the year with Will, despite the life-altering circumstances he ultimately encounters. Charlotte on the other hand, is an endearing character; she makes no pretense of her situation, which she deals with in an open and honest manner. And the winsome Ryder, who can say so much with her eyes alone, will capture even the most astute cynic with a single, penetrating glance. It may be difficult to understand some of the choices she makes, but in the end it becomes a matter of walking a mile in the other person's shoes. You can speculate as to how you would handle a given situation, but the truth of the matter is, no one knows until it actually happens to them. The supporting cast includes Anthony LaPaglia (John), Sherry Stringfield (Sarah) and Vera Farmiga (Lisa). With "Autumn In New York," Chen has delivered a thoughtful, visually stunning film, a romance that is somewhat different than the usual fare. There is an unexpected lack of emotional impact, which can only be attributed to Gere's character (not to be confused with his performance), but this is an exceptionally well made movie; how it will be received, however, is in the final analysis going to be quite simply a matter of personal taste.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much more than it seems, April 15, 2001
The DVD could have more special features; a commentary by the Director (Joan Chen); interviews with the principal actors; commentary by the composer. Out takes. We get none of these. But the film is well crafted, very well written and entertaining. So this purchase is a good one.On its beautiful surface, Autumn in New York is a typical romance. From the colors-all golden-red (leaves), plum-colored (dresses, sweaters), warm orange (lamps), subtle charcoal grays, elegant blacks, rich ivories, and crystalline whites-to the pale beauty of the ingenue (Charlotte), often the brightest image on the screen and therefore the place to which our eye is naturally drawn. Will with his thick silver mane, mature good looks and urbane way, complements her perfectly. But this is a subtle, sly film and not everything is what it seems. The director (Chen) tells us as much in a brief transition scene when a briskly walking Charlotte slows to ask an elderly woman on the street if she needs help shortly after we have seen Charlotte herself collapse in the previous scene. Charlotte is a woman-child contradiction, sometimes having more in common with the children (her bedtime-story butterfly scene) of Will's contemporaries than with Will himself ("I'm a creep. You're a kid."). The story and dialogue are spiced with irony and delicious inversions. Charlotte for all her seemingly naïve "wow"ness seems to control the outcome of most events planned by Will. In their first extended conversation (on the phone) he points out that she says "wow" an awful lot. ("You're all grown up now. When is that going to stop.") But when she emerges from the limo in a gown he bought for their date, it is his turn to say "wow." (You will too when you see Ryder in the dress). Later in the evening, Charlotte takes Will's "unprecedented and therefore utterly unpredictable," come-on line, identifies it as such, then declares it true not because of anything Will intended, but in spite of him. He thinks he's doing the seducing but in fact it is she who seduces him (the stairway scene). The morning after (breakfast scene), he tells her they have no future, "only what we have now." But it is Charlotte who trumps him by taking his standard noncommitment line, quoting it back to him after having given it a deeper meaning (she'll soon be dead), once again making it her own. Between the two, it is she who wields power through language and through the intensity with which she occupies time: "What shall we do, Will...with this moment that we're in?" Despite her poetizing, soft voice and impeccable manners, there is a voracious quality to Charlotte's love. It is selfish (she knows, as does Will, that she will be the one to leave), hurried ("I'm way out front in the love race.") and implacable ("...give it...share it!"). Charlotte has to live and love a lifetime in a single season. Will is actually the young kid in the way he lives his life; a string of young women with no commitments, an out-of-wedlock daughter he has ignored, his casual betrayal of Charlotte with an ex-girlfriend at a party. His use of language in not taking responsibility for his behavior: ("I guess I had sex with Lynn McHale...") So what we have is this duality, a romantic, poetic surface contrasted with a pragmatic underside where we get a good look at the gears of love's machinery. This begins in the second scene of the film in the kitchen of 458. Will is busy locating a Chilean bass that is masquerading as an Arctic Char, finds the bouilla baisse missing. Lots of cursing, complaining, and asking for raises. All of this activity is the basis for the ambience out front. Charlotte, grandmother and friends are celebrating her 22nd birthday. After a charming introduction and a little witty reparte, Will sends over 3 bottles of Crystal. His maitre de knows it's an investment. This doubleness returns again when we overhear Will's driver and doorman chatting. The driver showed up early because it is raining. Charlotte and Will may be spending a romantic night out, but these guys are working. They are part of the machinery that helps make the romance possible. Charlotte delivers Will's hat and we see him chewing out one of his vendors for the quality of Parmegian cheese he had recently delivered. Will is still the tough taskmaster when he accuses Charlotte of being late. He recovers quickly enough with a compliment "what's the point of being young and beautiful if you can't keep men waiting," but we get the idea. Of course the most powerful contrast of all is Will and Charlotte's last moment together. He recites poetry, they exchange expressions of love and commitment, but this romantic parting is harshly interrupted by the medicine-speak of Dr Grandy and a nurse as they burst into the room and brusquely roll Charlotte away for surgery. The romantic moment is not quite done but life has its own timetable. The last time we see Charlotte she is alone staring up at the harsh surgery light, to me, one of the more powerful moments in the film. I could go on, the themes: the linking of sex and responsibility, truth and lies, birth and death, childhood versus adulthood, transitions (metamorphosis), time, surface and what lies beneath. The symbolism: white for death, purple for mourning, the butterflies, the swan image in Charlotte's art and the single swan in the last scene (they mate for life), reflections (windows, water, mirrors, glass beads). The sound track (especially the Elegy for Charlotte and Jennifer Paige's Beautiful during the credits) works perfectly. This film needs time and patience. Immerse yourself in it and Autumn in New York will yield its treasures a little at a time and move you deeply.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much Better Than I Thought!, September 22, 2002
I avoided this movie for about a year thinking... typical, until I watched it. The plot is somewhat similar to many movies that have been seen before. Guy meets girl and one of them doesn't have long to live. And what could possibly be said that hasn't been said before? Right?Wrong. As I now know, it's not always that something has to be new, but new to the person watching it. Mainly on an emotional level. Take the movie "Titanic" for instance. There were many versions that came out on TV of it before the one with Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet came out. In fact I saw one strikingly similar that was four hours with Tim Curry in it that was viewed maybe a couple of months to a year before the feature film debuted. The point is you will find a lot of movies that are alike and similar, but if they mean something different to each person then that's all that matters. I thought Autumn in New York was absolutely charming and couldn't be better. It touched my heart. Winona Ryder's character not having long to live and falling in love with Richard Gere's character who was twice her age and of course... subconsciouly we all expect an older person to die first. The underlying irony was gorgeous. I think the critical viewers were missing the point... like I had been before I saw it. A typical movie doesn't mean it isn't unique. This one was unique in it's own fashion in how a young vibrant woman opened the heart of a womanizing man certain to not commit and leave every woman before they left him. It taught you about fear and what to do with love. We could learn a lot from the movie considering love is the most important emotion that exists. Charlotte knew what to do with her love and was dying, and Richard Gere's character although living had no idea how to handle his life and how to even contribute to a life that required commitment to love. She taught him how to stop being afraid. His character was afraid to love and then lose. And the irony of his choice was also amazing--he could blow her off as he did every woman and still love her, but choose to lose her by ending it first or let himself love her and still lose her by not leaving first. But still either way he would lose her. But the most amazing thing is what he would gain while losing her... if he let himself. I think sometimes we go in expecting all of the wrong things in a movie and criticizing it for not having it when we really need to take a closer look and we might actually see that it has exactly what we need. And maybe we're lacking in emotion... and could use some learning from it. The movie had simiar plots to many movies--yes--but it didn't stop it from being really good and unique and having its own individual message. Plus, I think some people still are stuck on "Pretty Woman" ... it's over guys... Richard Gere's past "Pretty Woman"... he's moved on! Let him grow. It just would be nice if we could all appreciate the right movies for once. Me included... I'm working on doing that! I learned something very important from this movie, but I could never describe what I learned. If you watch it maybe you'll learn something too. But it may not be the same thing... but that's what makes it all worth while!
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