A Poet in New York

An absolutely superb film dealing with a subject which reeks with creative pitfalls. Tom Hollander's bravura uncompromising performance was matched by a supporting cast - Phoebe Fox and Ewen Bremner were fabulous in particular - that allowed the director (Aisling Walsh) to paint a picture of this great poet's desperately sad life without whimsy, and without clichés. Beautifully photographed and realised, this was the best biopic I have seen for a long time.The script written by Andrew Davies used the poetry to great effect and balanced Thomas's brilliant language with some effective and poignant dialogue - no mean feat. The integration of period footage of New York in 1952 was seamless - presumably colorised Black and White, but the cinematography, costume design and art direction added a modern atmosphere to the film instead of the often used lazy cod stylised attempts at period visual approximation which make the imagery seem so unrealistic and unbelievable. For reasons that seem baffling, it wasn't given much promotion by the BBC. No doubt the schedulers were too busy pushing the other ridiculous rubbish TV executives pepper their schedules with these days. This was great television drama. On a philosophical note: I know about that desperation and pressures Walsh/Davies so cleverly delineated, and I know how seductive New York can be from its seedy dives, its cocktails, its somewhat superficial parties, and its artistic magnetism. Tragic that all these attractions have the power to destroy so much talent, and in Dylan Thomas's case, at such a tragically young age.

This film tells the story of a talented British poet, whose life is ridden with alcoholism and poor health. His womanising ways does not help with guys marriage either, causing every bit of his life to fall apart.

"A Poet in New York" may look good on paper, but the end result is quite ridiculous. I can't imagine a man bursting into poems every time he speaks. The poems are not even relevant to the questions or contexts at times, hence the social exchanges are very weird. The film does not capture me in any way, unfortunately. I found it very boring and unconvincing.

Dylan lived a life of booze, sex and ill health. He died young and in that time wrote great poetry and did a lot of readings which Thomas is also known for.

This film concentrates on his American tours in the last part of his life. New York seduces him with fame and booze but the stories I heard about his time in New York, some by people still alive who knew him in that period are more interesting than this biopic.

There was some good use of period footage used in this film and Tom Hollander channelled the essence of Dylan Thomas but it was also a by the numbers biopic with love, drink, lust, betrayal and poetry.

The film would have been better with some actual American actors playing Americans although Ewen Bremner was good the accent seemed to wobble here and there.

The poetry recitals were good and the flashbacks to his earlier in Wales were intriguing but this was a wasted opportunity.

Dylan Thomas gets the full BBC costume drama treatment in Andrew Davies' screenplay and Aisling Walsh's production. Historical accuracy is paramount; the costumes are well-crafted, the settings appropriately kitschy, the cast impeccable, with Tom Hollander offering a remarkable vocal impersonation of Thomas' voice. There are the familiar stock plot-elements; the obligatory sex-scenes involving Thomas, his wife Caitlin (Essie Davis), a Polish countess (Wanda Opalinska) and a street- girl; the picture-postcard shots of the Welsh coastline, with sequences shot in Thomas' writing-den right by the sea; and the syrupy music (by Debbie Wiseman) forming a - somewhat intrusive - backdrop to Thomas' love-scenes with Caitlin and his platonic relationship with amanuensis/secretary Liz Reitell (Phoebe Fox). In truth the drama doesn't tell us very much about Thomas' character, other than to suggest his fundamentally self-centered nature, and his continual memories of a childhood where he was often taunted by other children on account of his bronchial troubles. The atmosphere of early Fifties New York is adequately re-created, although the mock-up of the Chelsea Hotel (where Thomas spent his last days) looks nothing like the actual building. Some of the American accents are a bit questionable - especially Ewen Bremner's performance as Thomas' friend and promoter J. M. Brinnin - but in general this is a solid if somewhat unspectacular production.

Talented without a doubt but what makes this film difficult to enjoy is that Thomas wasn't the best of human beings. Relationships weren't his strong point. He can't help himself of course so it's like watching a train wreck, waiting for the inevitable crash. That sometimes makes for uninspired viewing. Performances are good though as is the poetry itself, naturally.

Having said that, I liked him more when I didn't know this much about him. As a writer who's struggled with depression and alcohol, it doesn't surprise me and I completely empathize, but it doesn't necessarily make for a good movie. No disrespect. Is this film the way he'd like to be remembered? Read his work instead. You'll get a lot more out of it.