Anthology is one of the most entertaining and unique formats in film today. An anthology can be described as one film made up of many shorter plot lines with many different characters that sometimes cross paths. The point of the film is generally an abstract idea or an elemental focus rather than the achievement of any specific overall plot or character development. Some examples of films considered anthologies are Fantasia, He’s Just Not That Into You, and Paris, je t’aime (Paris, I Love You).
New York, I Love You, a sequel of sorts to the aforementioned Paris, je t’aime and the second film in the Cities of Love series, is designed cinematically to illuminate human love and intimacy in many different forms. The film develops in a fashion similar to its prequel, except that there is one character who appears in almost every one of the short films that make up New York, I Love You. This character is a videographer, whose compilation of footage supplies the film’s conclusion.
New York, I Love You has 11 directors and an ensemble cast of over 20 big names in the film business, including Bradley Cooper, Shia LeBeouf, Robin Wright Penn, Ethan Hawk, Cloris Leachman, Eli Wallach, Christina Ricci, and many others. The transitions between each story are very natural and smooth, and are helped along in their fluidity by the chaotic, bustling, non-stop environment that is the city of New York, making each ending and beginning as natural as ending one conversation, then beginning a new one with a different person. The presence of the videographer character helps thread these “conversations” together and bind the anthology into a united whole. Each of the 11 stories shows us another side of a topic we, as humans, think we know so well–that topic being love, of course. The stories dive into the complexities of love and its ever-changing forms. We see examples of the love of a mistress, love influenced by religion, love between strangers, love in a 63 year long marriage, love as art, love as business, love as acting, love in the form of a memory, love as a phone conversation, and most importantly in this film, love as an observer.
New York, I Love You premiered in 2009 and received mixed reviews. It can be hard for movie audiences to digest moments of truth in a film, especially when they’re unexpected. The anthology format enables New York, I Love You to frequently cross the line from the imaginative world of the film’s genre–in this case, romantic comedy–to the reality-stricken world of documentary, which is illustrated in New York, I Love You by the videographer. This kind of mental realignment can shift an audience’s mood, and whether or not that shift is a positive thing will depend on who you ask. New York, I Love You seemed initally to draw reactions from audiences that were half positive and half negative. However, when viewed without the expectation of a generic rom-com plot, it becomes one of the most affecting movies on the subject of love that we may ever see.
It can be easy to get too bogged down in insignificant details–the way the city looks, the way the context is set up in each segment of the film, the fact that the videographer appears too often (or not often enough). However, paying too much attention to the little things can make it easy to lose sight of the essential focus of this film. New York, I Love You is fundamentally about humans dealing with love; its anthology format allows it to focus less on linear plot and instead look at the bigger picture. The film says we shouldn’t worry so much, that we should open our eyes, take a step back, and savor all the flavors of love that our lives provide. Love really is all around us, and once we have it, the rest falls into place. New York, I Love You is a beautiful reminder that, while love is far from perfect, it truly is all we need.
