New York en automne

"Autumn In New York" neither opened my heart or my tear ducts. Unfortunately the film did not move me in the way I expect the Writer and Director intend it to. The same old plot used many times in the past, "Love Story". It was predictable after the first fifteen minutes. Richard Gere floundered in dialogue which was unbearably boring. Winona Ryder has proven she's better in 'period' pieces, "Little Women". The film lacked energy, even though it was about dying. The actors all seemed bored in their 'fluffy' dialogue. Even the fantastic location of New York didn't lift this piece up. It looked more washed out than the average persons eyes who would be watching this movie. At the risk of being called a 'chauvinist pig', this film is obviously for a female audience, as it was written and directed by females and this shows in the weak male dialogue. If rating by star value 'Autumn In New York' would definitely be a half star.

Although a little boring at some points "Autumn In New York" managed to truly emotionally entertain and interest me. Even after seeing it I am still discovering the hidden meanings it tries to give us. Ironically despite being a romantic drama the romance between the main actors is the biggest downer of this movie. I must have missed the part when Winona Ryder's character's age is revealed, but she just doesn't pass as a 21 year old. I thought she was supposed to be like 26 or something. Not that there's a big difference in age, but she was a bit misscast, despite her child like face. On the other side she was really attractive in this movie and constantly reminded me of this cute girl I know. Gere looks and feels pretty old, but he's a believable 48 year old playboy. The movie is hence held together by good dialogues and nice and memorable scenes. There's also a great line Gere says to Winona after he cheats on her and realizes he screwed up: "Can you let me love you?" I've read some pretty different explanations of this movie, but basically I think it's about Gere's character slowly discovering he's been missing a great deal of life, he's never loved. So after "accidentally" falling in love with Charlotte he can't bear the though of her dying and tries everything in his power to prevent her death(this might have something to do with his previous life where he was always the one with power, whilst the women weren't). But he has to realize that in Charlotte's case he's completely powerless and there's where the point of the movie lies. He chose true love (despite knowing that Charlotte was going to die soon) over the life he thought he was happy with. It might sound ridiculous but I kind o envy the guy. I too would rather truly love a woman, if only for a short period of time, than spend a life with a woman I didn't love. I would be a happier man, even after that true love would, for some reason or another, leave me, because I'd know I loved, even if it didn't last. I was pretty surprised at most of the bad reviews and comments, but on the other side I couldn't help but to agree with most of them. It is a crude love story and it is somewhat predictable and boring, but it was overlooked for the most important reason it tries to tell us. Despite being an unconventional and hardly believable love story "Autumn In New York" is a movie that in the end managed to show me you have to take even the biggest sacrifices to find true love. Sad and Beautiful. 7/10

This movie has many weaknesses, but there is something really superior about it nonetheless. On the negative side, everything people are saying is true; the dialogue is clunky, the plot is predictable, and the chemistry is weak. On the other hand, the charisma of both the leads is amazing and I really fell in love with Winona Ryder's character. I think the makers of this film were resigned to the the fact that as far as writing was concerned, they weren't breaking any new ground. What they did instead was dress up the standard love story with great actors, nice clothes, and pretty settings. Despite the gloss, there is a story here that everyone can identify with at some level. The result, in my opinion, is something magical that I can't pin down. I think it's a success.

My wife and I are 70 plus, and we enjoyed the movie very much. It is disappointing to read the poor reviews this movie is receiving. The photography was magnificent and New York is shown as it can be, beautiful. One thought we had while viewing it was "Paris, eat your heart out". The story line was not bad either. We recommend it to older folks like us who are tired of movies sprinkled with the F word.

Nor could they have cast anybody better than Elaine Stritch.

Beautiful in every way -- the cinematography, the music, the patience of the direction. You could feel the ease Gere and Ryder felt. They were allowed their best selves. The portrayal was wholly believable. There was exquisite nuance and not an iota of artifice, not even one.

This was an experience in true life portrayal; genuine, and somehow dug down to where we all really live, especially Gere's transformation, Ryder's delicacy in one particular scene, and Stritch's hallmark capacity for authenticity.The actor playing Gere's best friend was just as commendable, the actress playing the daughter, and the feel about the medical rush. I haven't checked yet who did the casting or cinematography or music or direction, but this movie is put together with world-class people.

There is an element of deep reality throughout that rings true.