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Autumn in New York (2000)

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172 comments in total

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14 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Something to redress the balance !!, 30 marzo 2001
Author: Nicholas Rhodes de Ile-de-France / Paris Region, France

Whilst everyone is naturally entitled to their own opinion, I was rather shocked to read the large number of negative comments about this film on the site. A redress is therefore more than necessary ! Compared to a lot of the violent rubbish we get in the cinema today, here is a film without violence, beautifully made, and concentrating on "L O V E ! " Naturally the story is all the more intense as we know that one of the protagonists's days are numbered, and why not indeed ? A parallel may be drawn with the film LOVE STORY but in AUTUMN IN NY, the dialogues are much less crude and closer to reality. The film is technically, plastically, very beautiful ( I m very sensitive to Autumn leaves ) and this film ranks with the best in the autumn ' genre ', ie, "All that Heaven allows", featuring Rock Hudson & Jane Wyman, and "The Trouble with Harry" by Alfred Hitchcock. Rarely is autumn sunlight put to such good use as in this film. The subtle autumn light of New York accompanies the autumn of Charlotte's own short life towards the winter's snow and her voyage into eternity. Too much emphasis is placed on the difference in age between the two protagonists as well as supposed flaws in their characters. Who cares ? Love is Love ! Why should't a play-boy discover true love ? I think it is wonderful. Let's face it, true love is the only thing in the whole wide world that all peoples can agree on ! This film is reminiscent of the great American weepies of the 40's such as Waterloo Bridge or Random Harvest, but with present-day film quality as an extra a bonus. Unfortunately, these kind of romantic melodramas seem to have lost favour with the public today, which is a great great shame, as romance and love are eternal themes which will never die. I think the film will stand the test of time and hopefully at a future time when violence and evil sentiment on the cinema screen will be less sought after than today will come onto its own. Indeed a second viewing of the film allowed me to appreciate even more the plastic beauty of the film which I missed the first time round as I was worried how it was going to end. In addition to that I was even more impresses the second time round by the performance to the two actors. So long live beauty and romance as portrayed in this film and let's hope there'll be more to come in the cinema of the future.

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Not as bad as I heard, but not good, 30 agosto 2000

Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) de United States

This film has been savaged by critics and it's easy to see why. The story is oooollllllddddd (young girl dying of an incurable disease) and some of the dialogue is beyond belief. But it is well-acted (Ryder and Gere give two of their best performances) and it looks beautiful. Basically the acting and photography kept me in my seat. Take those things away and it would probably be unwatchable. So, not too bad but not good either.

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10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
A nice surprise, 31 enero 2003

Author: bsinc de Ljubljana, Slovenia

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

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Ineffective drama (spoilers), 18 agosto 2004
Author: Alain English de London, England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Set in New York pre-9/11, and featuring some brighter imagery of New York than might appear today, "Autumn In New York" has plenty of potential as a story and in many ways appears well edited and constructed. The specific problem with this is an uninteresting script and a crippling lack of chemistry between the principal characters.

Will Keane (Richard Gere) is an aging, womanizing Manhattan restauranteur who falls in love with Charlotte(Winona Ryder), an outgoing beautiful twenty-something who is the daughter of a woman he once knew. She inspires him to get in touch with his neglected daughter (Vera Farmiga), but the relationship falters when it's reveals Charlotte has a terminal heart condition and has not got very long to live...

The script uses the terminal illness hook as a means to explore the true nature of sex and romantic love. Although it is continually implied that Will sleeps around, it is never actually seen on-screen until he declares his love for Charlotte. Charlotte's illness and the fact she could pass away at any time, encourages the couple to enjoy every minute they have together. Unfortunately this part of the film is never really sustained with any real momentum.

The initial problem is the script, which does not really offer the characters any strong, emotive or memorable lines that would make the story come to life. The second problem is the lack of chemistry between the two leads. Richard Gere is well suited to his role, and has demonstrated he can play a romantic lead with dramatic dimensions ("An Officer and A Gentleman"). However, a lackluster performance means he disappoints here. Similarly with Winona Ryder, whose ethereal beauty cannot disguise her limited acting ability. Because of this, we have no empathy with her character and the film loses much of it's power as a result. Decent supporting actors Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch and J.K Simmons are wasted in one-note parts.

At least the film gets the setting right. New York is wonderfully shot around, capturing the autumnal beauty of Central Park and the softly sweeping grandeur of the massive skyscrapers.

That aside, however, this picture is a lifeless waste of time.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Average, 3 abril 2001
Author: LeRoyMarko de Toronto, Canada

Slow moving romantic comedy/drama featuring Winona Ryder as Charlotte Fielding, a beautiful young women who falls for an older and richer man played by guess who, Richard Gere. It's actually what you could call a typical Gere movie! But Charlotte is sick and we don't know if she'll live much longer.

About the acting. Richard Gere is Richard Gere in this movie. I don't know about other reviewers, but it seems to me that he always delivers the same kind of performance. Beautiful Winona is good but not excellent in this one. After seeing her superb performance in «Girl, Interrupted», I was a little bit disappointed.

6 out of 10.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
It's one of the best movies, 9 marzo 2006

Author: eleena_d

Autumn in New York is one of my favorite movies. It is a beautiful love story with a tragic end. Once you watch the movie you somehow fall in love with it. The story might seem odd because of the age difference between the two lovers. But then love is something which sees no age. Richard Gere seems perfect for the role Will Keane and so does Winona Ryder as Charlotte Fielding. The chemistry between the two may not be the same as the way it was between Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride. But then the story is much different here. So in a way the casting seems right. I am a big fan of Richard Gere and every movie of his seems to be different. Frankly speaking if you gonna watch the movie trying to find logic and reason in everything then my guess is that you won't enjoy the movie. Just leave all reasoning and watch the movie for love, then I'm sure you will love it.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Could have been great, if only.. (**SPOILERS**), 15 junio 2002
Author: Empress (jupiturgrl@aol.com) de IL

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

**SPOILERS**

First let me say the following: I watched the movie in pieces because I was busy, but I CAN comment on what I did see..

I love Winona Ryder in everything she's been in, or at least everything I've seen her in. As for Richard Gere, I really dislike him because he seems to love himself way too much (don't tell me you don't envision him telling himself how sexy and irresistible he is while he poses in the mirror like a GQ model), but he honestly has an (annoying) appeal I can't quite put my finger on.. So, I love Ryder and I love/hate Gere.

Now, on to the movie..

It's an original and unusual pairing of actors, I'll give it that; But, the romance angle just doesn't wash. Sweet, gentle, vulnerable Charlotte seems like a starry-eyed young woman with THE love crush of her life on an older man (which is understandable since she's at death's door)--While independent, in-your-face-womanizer-who-makes-women-weak-in-the-knees, power-hungry, go-getter Will looks rather sleazy for taking advantage of her in her mental and physical state. This isn't to say he doesn't care for her in a deep way, but it still comes off as selfish and a bit sick. To be clear, it isn't so much the AGE difference between the two that sours the movie, but the EMOTIONAL difference. And if they'd bonded on the intellectual-philosophical level, I may believe in their relationship even a little, but Will is too "Gere" to bond in any way other than cheap philosophy-plated pillow-talk.

Will's and Charlotte's last scene didn't even lead me to believe it was their last scene and was barely noticeable. I REALLY wanted to care and felt sad that I couldn't, so I could only sympathize for the situation itself.

Charlotte wasn't Will's daughter, but she easily COULD have been; And the scene with Will's grandson and daughter--who looks OLDER than Charlotte, mind you--further points out this fact, completely destroying any last ditch attempt by the viewer to forget Will's and Charlotte's creepy, near-incest-like relationship in favor of sweet, gut-wrenching sympathy for their doomed and tragic love. Who wants to end a movie viewing with nothing purely human to take from it? On the whole, it left me oscillating between feeling uncomfortable and sympathetic, never settling on either emotion.

In my opinion, it would've done better to REALLY have Will as Charlotte's father (dropping the romance angle COMPLETELY, of course!). They still would've had a painfully limited amount of time to bond and eventually lose out to her death--a much less-used plot than the newly-connected-soulmates-working-against-time one. And even the 'Christmas tree on the balcony' scene would've made your heart wrench in sympathy--WITHOUT comparisons to incest popping up in your mind (Wouldn't we have enjoyed it more if it had been this way?). And, most of all, it would've given us a chance to see if Gere can do something other than older-guy-who's-finds-new-young-mistress, 'cause that shtick's gotten old.

On a side note, I love the music in this movie (Anyone else notice the soundtrack portion with the chorus is very reminiscent of "Gladiator?"). Throughout the portion of the movie prior to the weak climax, the 'heart-string' music and the beautiful autumn scenery enveloped me in a bittersweet lovey-dovey atmosphere that sedated me like a cup of tea to make me temporarily forget about this romance mismatch and instead sympathize for the situation alone.

Another mention.. Elaine Stritch (who I've never heard of before this film, believe it or not, though I did see her guest star on "3rd Rock From The Sun" and play in a recurrent role on "The Cosby Show") was great as Charlotte's grandmother and I would've loved to see more interaction between the two--Which, again, would've been possible if they'd gone the father-daughter route with Charlotte and Will since it would've focused more on family. I know Ryder can do it, but I want to see if GERE has any heart to show us, don't you?

On a "report card" scale, I give it a sad C

(It could've been at least a B+..)

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Drink a pot of coffee first...., 29 enero 2001

Author: jennifer-99 de Toronto, Ontario

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

...and you MAY be able to stay awake during this one. While not exactly an original concept, this movie had the potential to at least elicit some heartfelt tears from the female portion of the audience. Unfortunately the only thing sad about this movie was the terribly written script, the paper-thin characters and the unbelievably SLOW pace at which the story moved along. (Possible spoilers)

I am personally a fan of both the "tear-jerker" genre of movies and of the handsome Richard Gere. Not only could Mr. Gere's presence not save this one for me, but he was one of the reasons that I strongly disliked the film. His character was completely dispicable, he had absolutely no chemistry with his leading lady and his performance was so wooden that one wondered if he was being held on the set against his will.

I can't possibly be the only one who just didn't buy into their whole romance. One second, Will was telling Charlotte that their relationship had absolutely no future. The next second she was telling him she was terminally ill....then, magically, he decides he can't live without her. How's that for brilliant screen writing? Let's not forget the fact the he sleeps with someone else while the love of his life is down stairs in the very same house. My heart just leaps at the thought of their true love. Yeah, right. I found myself hoping that whatever Charlotte had was contageous so she could take Will with her when she died and put him out of his misery.

The movie had 2 chances to redeem itself, by exploring the possibility that Will's feelings for Charlotte were a product of deep feelings he had for her dead mother, and by delving into Will's desire to forge a relationship with his long absent daughter. These elements were either ignored or poorly explored and added absolutely nothing to the final product.

With the exception of the cinematographers, every one involved in this snoozer should be ashamed...especially Mr. Gere and Ms. Ryder, both talented performers. What were they thinking when they picked this script?

Keep "Autumn in New York" in mind for those sleepless nights...this one will send you to dreamland in minutes.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Muted, subtle, and rewarding, 16 septiembre 2000
Author: Mark Nielsen (mnielsen@pris.bc.ca) de Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada

Slow and somber, muted and subtle, Autumn in New York isn't like most movies.

Set against a backdrop of pastels and shades, this sad yet engaging story about doomed love is full of symbolism and metaphor revolving around renewal and decay, second chances and confronting one's past, and hearts on the mend both spiritually and physically.

Winona Ryder plays Charlotte Fielding, a young woman blessed with simple good looks but stuck with a faulty heart that threatens to limit her days. Richard Gere plays Will, an older man whose years of toil in the restaurant business are starting to pay off.

Will suffers from an ailment of a different kind, an inability to stay true to his woman, something that tends to hurt others more than himself. As it turns out Will once even dated Charlotte's mother only to cruelly jilt her by seducing her best friend.

Ever the womanizer, Will can't help himself, and when they meet one night, he hatches a plot to woo Charlotte. Already giddy at his very sight, Charlotte is easily swept off her feet and is soon in love.

Alas, Will hasn't changed much. When Charlotte intuitively discovers that he's been cheating, their relationship hits the rocks. Only this time Will does feel bad and finally tries to break out of his pattern of deceit.

Meanwhile, his notoriety as a restaurant owner turns into something of a two-edged sword as the daughter from the woman he seduced then spots his photo on a magazine cover and tracks him down.

What follows is Will's efforts to not only put the pieces back together but create a future that both he and Charlotte can share. The trouble is, it could also mean some very radical surgery that Charlotte may not survive.

Although set in New York, it could just as easily have played out in a small northern British Columbia town as the six degrees of separation rule very much applies. In fact, it's Charlotte's grandmother who introduces the two, despite knowing all to well how Will treated her daughter.

Don't expect any car chases, fireball explosions, or over the top special effects. But do expect a movie that is splendidly shot in hues of orange and yellow, green and grey, and opts for opaques and shadow over bright and blinding.

And while the pacing is as slow as molasses, Autumn in New York nonetheless seeps deep into the psyche and remains there all season long.

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8 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Who cares, just DIE already., 1 mayo 2006

Author: pzilliox de Heart of America

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Let me sum up what I learned from this movie: If you're an aging, philandering jerk, you can restore your relationship with the daughter you abandoned by seducing a terminally-ill girl half your age, cheating on her, then grieving over her unavoidable death. If that sounds like "real life" to you, you're gonna LOVE this movie.

Ryder plays an early-20-something girl who falls for a 48-year-old restaurant owner. The lead characters "fall in love," but their relationship is strictly 2-dimensional. We're never given any clue about what is actually attracting these two people to each other. Her terminal illness is also totally unbelievable; Ryder's character has quite normal capabilities for the most part, until she suddenly gasps or unexpectedly falls over unconscious at crucial moments. The plot is totally disjointed, with very little understandable cause and effect established between various actions and reactions.

Gere is a decent actor, at least when he plays his usual stock character (the rich, self-centered playboy). He has some stupid lines to deliver, but he manages to be the only believable thing in the movie. But that only allowed me to hate his character with a passion. He's not just a womanizer, he's a big enough jerk to --now, try to get all this-- have quickie sex with an old girlfriend at his best friend's house, during a children's Halloween party, which he is attending with his current, dying girlfriend, whom he says he loves more deeply than anyone else he has ever known. After lying about the tryst, Gere finally tells Ryder that he HAD to have sex with another woman because he was "scared." Oh please! The screenwriter must be equally a jerk, because he obviously thinks we will actually LIKE this creep. After that kind of behavior, not only do I fail to like him, I can't care at all what happens to him.

Of course, Ryder's poor little sick girl quickly melts and forgives him, and believes him when he whispers to her he loves her. Frankly, at that point in the film I was thinking, "She deserves whatever she gets. Neither one of these people have a clue what love is." For some reason, by the end of the film, Ryder's sickness and death makes things okay between the restaurateur and his estranged daughter. Why? How? Who knows! Who CARES; I was just grateful the film was over!

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