No, it's not "Paths of Glory," "Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens," or any of the other half-dozen things one of the other reviewers here evidently wishes it were. But it is something I haven't seen in a while – an honest film about aging and the challenges of moving beyond regrets and missed opportunities toward mature self-fulfillment.
The modest, and I think successful, ambition of Wang's film is to tell a story about the kinds of New Yorkers we don't often see on screen these days against the backdrop of a changing city that no longer offers them the opportunities of days past.
Main character Lenny is moving toward a very literal dead end, facing the prospects of financial ruin and perpetual loneliness, until he meets Mimi and glimpses a way out of the trap his life has become.
For me, the beauty of the film is that it does not at this point become a conventional valentine to December romance, but instead offers a gentle commentary on the meaning of true friendship and finding the courage to move with dignity into life's later stages. The ending may strike some as a bit fanciful, but it makes sense in light of the film's gradual revelation of the real relationship at the heart of the story.
"The Last New Yorker" has a generous spirit, and I would definitely recommend it to those looking for a breather from the standard preconceptions of movie love in the big city.
The modest, and I think successful, ambition of Wang's film is to tell a story about the kinds of New Yorkers we don't often see on screen these days against the backdrop of a changing city that no longer offers them the opportunities of days past.
Main character Lenny is moving toward a very literal dead end, facing the prospects of financial ruin and perpetual loneliness, until he meets Mimi and glimpses a way out of the trap his life has become.
For me, the beauty of the film is that it does not at this point become a conventional valentine to December romance, but instead offers a gentle commentary on the meaning of true friendship and finding the courage to move with dignity into life's later stages. The ending may strike some as a bit fanciful, but it makes sense in light of the film's gradual revelation of the real relationship at the heart of the story.
"The Last New Yorker" has a generous spirit, and I would definitely recommend it to those looking for a breather from the standard preconceptions of movie love in the big city.