A Rainy Day in New York (2019)
Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Liev Schreiber
Runtime: 92 minutes
Synopsis: A young couple arrive in New York for a weekend where they are met with bad weather and a series of adventures and misadventures.
Performances: 7/10
Screenplay: 5/10
Costumes/Makeup: 7/10
Editing: 6/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 6/10
Verdict: I've never been a fan of Woody Allen's work, and even less of the man himself. In fact, "Midnight in Paris" is the only movie of his that I genuinely love. His newest flick (he somehow still is able to make movies) features a star studded cast that includes the likes of Timothée Chalamet. Elle Fanning, Liev Schreiber, Jude Law, Rebecca Hall, or even Selena Gomez and sees a young couple setting foot in New York with plans of spending a weekend together there before they are stopped by a series of unfortunate events. And like most of Allen's work, I found it to be average.
There's still a lot to admire about the film as a whole. The performances are all great and it's overall technically a well-done film that smartly uses its score and camerawork. The dialogue, while a little too pretentious, can be entertaining and interesting at times, and the setting was warm and cozy despite the weather implied in the film's title. My issue with it, however, was the fact that it ultimately felt both messy and empty. Messy because it didn't know what it wanted to focus on. Way too many pointless subplots were happening at once, and most of them were driven by clumsy conveniences that Allen justifies in the only way he knows how: the city is a character of its own, to which I say bullshit. This very issue of failing to stay focused on the main narrative led to it feeling void of the romanticism it attempts to develop. Being a romantic-comedy, the film had to also be funny, and it tried and mostly succeeded thanks to Selena Gomez and Elle Fanning's performances, but a number of jokes were also a little too on the nose, forced, or even awkward.
I can't with a good conscience say that the movie was bad, because it isn't. It had enough redeemable factors to keep me at least interested through its short runtime, but I ultimately had to ask myself "is that really the best way to tell that story?" as soon as the credits started rolling.
There's still a lot to admire about the film as a whole. The performances are all great and it's overall technically a well-done film that smartly uses its score and camerawork. The dialogue, while a little too pretentious, can be entertaining and interesting at times, and the setting was warm and cozy despite the weather implied in the film's title. My issue with it, however, was the fact that it ultimately felt both messy and empty. Messy because it didn't know what it wanted to focus on. Way too many pointless subplots were happening at once, and most of them were driven by clumsy conveniences that Allen justifies in the only way he knows how: the city is a character of its own, to which I say bullshit. This very issue of failing to stay focused on the main narrative led to it feeling void of the romanticism it attempts to develop. Being a romantic-comedy, the film had to also be funny, and it tried and mostly succeeded thanks to Selena Gomez and Elle Fanning's performances, but a number of jokes were also a little too on the nose, forced, or even awkward.
I can't with a good conscience say that the movie was bad, because it isn't. It had enough redeemable factors to keep me at least interested through its short runtime, but I ultimately had to ask myself "is that really the best way to tell that story?" as soon as the credits started rolling.
FINAL GRADE: 5/10
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