Every so often, a movie comes along that the entire nation seems to enjoy. Critics shower it with praise, it's full of great cinematography, has an excellent script, and if it's lucky, it picks up an Oscar nomination along the way. In many cases, this will be the film that I end up despising. On the other hand, the opposite can be true. Sometimes, a bad movie will be released. The critics will destroy it. It will be full of terrible dialogue, shabby acting, and undeveloped characters. Of course, it goes without saying that this movie will rely on every film cliche in the proverbial book. For some reason, however, I will enjoy it. `Autumn in New York,' starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, is a prime example of this unexplained phenomenon. Gere stars as Will Keane, the womanizing owner of one of New York's classier gourmet restaurants. Soon after the movie opens, Will falls for a younger woman (Ryder) who happens to be the daughter of an old friend. After the age difference turns out to be inconsequential, Charlotte's revelation that she is terminally ill makes it clear that they have been forced into a doomed relationship from the start. This, compounded by Gere's hesitancy to abandon his Don Juan-ish ways make for turbulence throughout their time together. A quasi-interesting subplot is thrown in concerning Keane's estranged daughter, and it serves to keep `Autumn' from falling into too many formulaic romance plots.
There are so many reasons not to like `Autumn in New York.' The first is obvious; no matter what lengths director Joan Chen goes to in order to keep the film original, she can't help but pour it into an overused mold. `Autumn' is a sappy movie about your standard ill-fated-from-the-start romance. It wears its heart on its sleeve and begs you to be nice because, after all, it's about beautiful things like true love and a person's ability to improve himself. People should watch it and cry because it's the kind of movie that is supposed to make people cry. The script itself was a different issue altogether. The dialogue sounded like it had been written by someone who had recently taken a very bad creative writing class.
`I can smell the rain. When did I learn to do that?' `Food is the only beautiful thing that truly nourishes.' Also, it seems that either Ryder's part was originally written for Drew Barrymore, or Drew's been giving Winona acting lessons recently.
However, I should stop complaining, because I genuinely enjoyed this movie. First of all, we should give Joan Chen a few tries before we start tearing her works of art to shreds. `Autumn' is the first English-language film Chen has attempted, so it appears that she's still getting her feet wet, and I can appreciate that. Second of all, in spite of the movie's unoriginal nature, some aspects made it impossible not to enjoy. What sticks in my mind are some of the most amazing visuals I have seen on the big screen in a very long time. Chen's mastery of aesthetic cinematography is incredible. It seems that NYC's pigeon population has been completely replaced by doves. Why? Because doves are pretty, that's why. Many of the scenes seemed to be paintings brought to life. Be it a night scene in a Manhattan alleyway or a flyby of the Brooklyn Bridge, each shot is tailored perfectly to compose a balanced and artistic blend of actors and scenery, without once resorting to the standby shot of the New York skyline. Joan Chen does amazing things with even a few strands of glass beads. The characters, as stereotypical as they were, made me care about them, which is rare. I was most impressed my J.K. Simmons' character, a surgeon called upon to help Ryder's character during the movie's second half. Simmons, with no more than twenty lines, undoubtedly gave the best performance during the movie's entire 107 minutes, and I look forward to seeing him in larger roles. `Autumn in New York' is a painting. It's a ballet or a classical choral piece. It's a piece of beautiful art, if not a good story. It forces us to think about things we don't always want to think about, but probably should. As I said, there are many reasons to brush it aside as Hollywood fluff, but there are more reasons to appreciate it.
There are so many reasons not to like `Autumn in New York.' The first is obvious; no matter what lengths director Joan Chen goes to in order to keep the film original, she can't help but pour it into an overused mold. `Autumn' is a sappy movie about your standard ill-fated-from-the-start romance. It wears its heart on its sleeve and begs you to be nice because, after all, it's about beautiful things like true love and a person's ability to improve himself. People should watch it and cry because it's the kind of movie that is supposed to make people cry. The script itself was a different issue altogether. The dialogue sounded like it had been written by someone who had recently taken a very bad creative writing class.
`I can smell the rain. When did I learn to do that?' `Food is the only beautiful thing that truly nourishes.' Also, it seems that either Ryder's part was originally written for Drew Barrymore, or Drew's been giving Winona acting lessons recently.
However, I should stop complaining, because I genuinely enjoyed this movie. First of all, we should give Joan Chen a few tries before we start tearing her works of art to shreds. `Autumn' is the first English-language film Chen has attempted, so it appears that she's still getting her feet wet, and I can appreciate that. Second of all, in spite of the movie's unoriginal nature, some aspects made it impossible not to enjoy. What sticks in my mind are some of the most amazing visuals I have seen on the big screen in a very long time. Chen's mastery of aesthetic cinematography is incredible. It seems that NYC's pigeon population has been completely replaced by doves. Why? Because doves are pretty, that's why. Many of the scenes seemed to be paintings brought to life. Be it a night scene in a Manhattan alleyway or a flyby of the Brooklyn Bridge, each shot is tailored perfectly to compose a balanced and artistic blend of actors and scenery, without once resorting to the standby shot of the New York skyline. Joan Chen does amazing things with even a few strands of glass beads. The characters, as stereotypical as they were, made me care about them, which is rare. I was most impressed my J.K. Simmons' character, a surgeon called upon to help Ryder's character during the movie's second half. Simmons, with no more than twenty lines, undoubtedly gave the best performance during the movie's entire 107 minutes, and I look forward to seeing him in larger roles. `Autumn in New York' is a painting. It's a ballet or a classical choral piece. It's a piece of beautiful art, if not a good story. It forces us to think about things we don't always want to think about, but probably should. As I said, there are many reasons to brush it aside as Hollywood fluff, but there are more reasons to appreciate it.