New York, I Love You

Review by Anthony Morris

A collection of short films that add up to one long love letter to the City of New York (well, Manhattan mostly), New York, I Love You turns out not to love the actual city so much as it does the version of it we know from the movies. 

It's a bit of a drawback - after all, unless you're Quentin Tarantino there's only so much you can do with a movie about other movies.

Fortunately, the eleven short films that make up this feature are short enough to function mostly as idealised romantic snapshots.

It's not that they don't get a little samey after a while - there sure are a lot of twist endings and surprise reveals in these short stories - but hitting the reset button every eight minutes or so does keep events slightly fresh.

Highlights include a look at the aftermath of a one-night stand starring Bradley Cooper, action director Brett Ratner's tale of a prom date with a twist (that really isn't that surprising - pretty much every story here has a twist) and Natalie Portman (who also directs another of the shorts as an orthodox Jew who strikes up a relationship with a diamond merchant).

What New York, I Love You does have is star power and plenty of it : the cast includes Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf (with a limp), Eli Wallach, Chris Cooper and Hayden Christensen.

As part of a franchise - there's already been one instalment set in Paris, with more planned around the globe - here's hoping that as the concept moves down the list of cities it finds locations (and stories) that feel a little fresher than these.

3 out of 5

New York, I Love You
Australian release: 13th May, 2010
Official Site: New York, I Love You
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf, Eli Wallach, Chris Cooper
Director: Multiple Directors