awg-07529 So is this a Hollywood take on the French film 5-7? The two films are quite similar so when watching the preview it was unclear from a vague memory if the film had actually been seen already. The film has some appealing aspects. PB is strong as the father. It does feel a good deal like a Woody Allen drama at times. It does take itself way too seriously. There is a line early in the film when the narrator says something like "the character of the young man symbolizes the new New York". That is a Brooklyn bridge too far! There has to be a rule in Hollywood not to compare any one person to the city of New York. Especially a rich young bratty white guy. That might work a little for Boulder, CO but not NYC. Decent film with a title song that is simply much better than the film.

secondtake The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)A surprise, from a film I hadn't heard about. It's flawed, it has some gaffes in the writing, and it uses some overused ideas (including the whole world of writers writing about being writers). But the acting is good, and the sentiment is kept in check (most of the time) so that it works overall. Enjoyable if nothing remarkable.There is a surprising number of known actors here, from Pierce Brosnan to Wallace Shawn (briefly). Callum Turner, the leading man (the only living boy), is likable but a weak link overall. He is meant to be in a crisis on every level, and he kind of shows it but you feel something missing in the performance. And maybe the writing.Ah, the writing. This is a movie about writers. And there are so many clichés here you can fill a salt shaker with them. Yeah, we love interpersonal drama, and the troubled mom and the troubled dad and the unlikely wise old man next door not to mention the utterly improbably girlfriend who isn't a girlfriend but who hangs on steadily anyway. It's a mashup of heart tugging types, and our star is in the middle navigating it all with really no rudderOr you might say that Jeff Bridges is his rudder. He's a cliché, too, of course, but his wisdom is good enough to give the movie some depth. I'd say the smarts of Kate Beckinsale's character, the mistress/lover with a troubled past and a surprisingly steady head on her shoulders, rises above the rest. Her performance is spot on, too.The upshot here is that the movie has a lot of little things to like, and the plot, which is riddled with little annoying emotional tricks, still has some honesty to it and you'll likely enjoy it all for what it is.

The Rumpus The good news about The Only Living Boy in New York is that it features an A-list supporting cast who are consistently appealing and engaging. It also features some great cinematography and lovely NYC locations.What it totally lacks is an engaging narrative. The title reeks of "coming of age" but there is no discovery or awakening here. The lead character, a millennial nitwit whose name I do not remember, is mired in post-high school inertia, but there is nothing here to suggest that he's actually struggling with that inertia. Rather, he seems content in his inertia, which leaves the narrative with nowhere to go.But this is largely due to the casting of this Callum fellow. (Sorry, I do not recall his last name and I don't care enough to open a new browser window and look it up.) Once upon a time there was a highly touted you actor named Josh Hartnett, who was incredibly dull, and lifeless, and, well, inert, who has blessedly disappeared from cinema...and this Callum fellow seems to be his clone. He excels at posturing, but to repeat a hackneyed current term - there's no there there. Inert. Boring. The exact opposite of engaging. On top of which his romantic opposite is Kate Beckinsale - undeniably beautiful, but also undeniably cold. There is a reason that the centerpiece of her acting career has been playing (repeatedly) a vampire, and that is the same reason why she does not appeal as a romantic lead. To touch her is to be frozen in ice.Whoops - Callum Turner. I didn't have to Google it. It's printed just on the left of this web page. Callum Turner. Please, pass him by in future castings.Inertia does not cinema make.

CineMuseFilms It's tough but true: the 1960s and The Graduate (1967) will never happen again. Although the title of The Only Living Boy in New York (2017) is a nod to the iconic romantic comedy that was immortalised in music by Simon and Garfunkel, this new film is more of a twisty Woody Allen-style coming-of-age story about growing up in contemporary America. Same theme, different tune.The film's key narrative device rests on a young man meeting a stranger who is writing a book based on the young man's life as it unfolds in real time. Twenty-something and nerdish, Thomas (Callum Turner) wants to be a writer and knows that he must experience the pain of living before he can write seriously. He has decided that beautiful Mimi (Kiersey Ciemons) is his one true love based on one night in bed but for her it was a bit of fun with a close friend. Thomas finds a stranger called W.F. (Jeff Bridges) sitting on his stairs who offers wise counsel despite efforts to avoid him. Soon W.F. is his muse and mentor and Thomas shares everything of his life and dreams. When Thomas discovers that his father Ethan (Pierce Brosnan) is having an affair, his worldview is shattered. He stalks the lover Johanna (Kate Beckinsale), confronts her, and ends up in her bed. It transpires that every relationship in Thomas' life is not what he thought it was. Welcome to adulthood.Calling the film Woody Allen-esque is shorthand for a storytelling style that depends on angst- laden whimsy. Thomas is a likable boy whose emotional fragility is a result of family wealth, middle-class breeding, and graduate education, so it's faintly pleasurable to witness his shocked awakening to how relationships work in the real world. What happens is nowhere near as significant to the film as how the characters react to unexpected change and the role of the mysterious W.F. Young Tom's loss of innocence is followed by a primitive masculine urge, just as his father's reaction to his infidelity being discovered is to exert brute force over others. While emotional worlds are cracking, W.F. listens and counsels, like an ancient omniscient narrator who also seems to shape the storyline as we watch. When his book is finished, so is the story except for a final twist that reveals who he is.Stylishly filmed and well-acted by a stellar ensemble, the film is also an exposé of privileged life in New York, with enough insider jokes and cultural references to make most audiences feel like they are outside looking in. No doubt the glasshouse effect is intended, as it is possible to stay interested but disconnected from its characters and their feelings. If you prefer action-based movies, there is not a lot happening here. But if you enjoy a nostalgic revisit to early adulthood accompanied by evocative music in an urban bohemian setting, there is enough to keep you engaged in the movie until its satisfyingly unexpected finale.