The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


CultureCinemaMovie reviews

Welcome to New York

Welcome to New York | Movie review
24 June 2014
Keir Smith
Keir Smith
Avatar
Keir Smith
24 June 2014

Movie and show review

Keir Smith

Welcome to New York

★★★★★

Release date

8th August 2014

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterFacebookWebsite

Gérard Depardieu stars as the controversial lead in Abel Ferrara’s corrupt tale of a powerful economic player, in more than one sense of the word. The picture opens by telling the audience that the story they are about to see is based upon a true tale; however the clarity of this message is purposefully blurred to keep the sense of political intrigue. Anyone who has seen the trailer will get an immediate flavour of the illicit sex-filled frenzy of a picture that’s in store for them, raising the question of whether there is any substance behind this racy style.

The film begins in an unrelentingly graphic sexual manner as Devereaux, played by Depardieu, makes Leonardo Di Caprio’s Wolf of Wall Street character Jordan Belfort look like a squeaky-voiced, inexperienced teenager. The brutal sexual detail and thoroughly in-depth scenes are initially so frequent that the viewer almost becomes desensitised to them as Devereaux becomes a visibly vile and grotesque image of a man. The early hideousness of Depardieu’s dehumanised character makes it hard for the viewer to see past anything else as he pants and wheezes his way through endless sexual encounters with little damaging consequence.

The intrigue of the story lies in the contrast of the two halves and the questionable transformation of our lead character. The film has a very raw, unedited feel as there is no soundtrack whatsoever and every scene is stretched out to almost uncomfortable levels, allowing the dialogue to stutter along and the scenes time to breathe. This stripped-back quality adds extra poignancy to the second half the film as the initial sex scenes are swapped for a more consequential drama-driven story as Jacqueline Bisset’s character Simone is also introduced as Derereux’s excellently played sinister wife.

Whilst the uniquely slow-paced style of the film does undoubtedly lend realism it also means it is far too long as the plot becomes flabby and overstretched. The pornographic exposition, as shown in the trailer, will be the obvious talking point and there are moments of genuine shock and cringe as nothing is left to the imagination for Depardieu’s character. The minor triumph of the film is its loyalty to the unerring detail to both the positive and negative aspects of the picture as there is eventually some provided substance.

★★★★★

Keir Smith

Welcome to New York is released nationwide on 8th August 2014.

Watch the trailer for Welcome to New York here: 

Related Itemsabel ferraragerard depardieuwelcome to new york

More in Movie reviews

The Wound (Inxeba)

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Avengers: Infinity War

★★★★★
Aidan Milan
Read More

The Outsider

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Beast

★★★★★
Euan Franklin
Read More

Every Day

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More

Big Fish and Begonia

★★★★★
Chloe Sizer
Read More

Funny Cow

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Let the Sunshine In

★★★★★
Euan Franklin
Read More

The Leisure Seeker

★★★★★
Daniel Amir
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Keir Smith

Welcome to New York

★★★★★

Release date

8th August 2014

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterFacebookWebsite

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Project Gastronomía: How will Londoners eat in 2050? A symposium on gastronomy and multisensory design
    Food & Drinks
  • Clare Smyth crowned the World’s Best Female Chef 2018
    Food & Drinks
  • Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Tribeca Film Festival 2018: On the red carpet with the stars of Westworld season 2
    Cinema
  • Tokio Myers at the Forum
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Wound (Inxeba)
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Clare Smyth crowned the World’s Best Female Chef 2018
    Food & Drinks
  • Strictly Ballroom at Piccadilly Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Writer at the Almeida Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Avengers: Infinity War
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Wound (Inxeba)
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Strictly Ballroom at Piccadilly Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Writer at the Almeida Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Avengers: Infinity War
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema

Instagram

Something is wrong. Response takes too long or there is JS error. Press Ctrl+Shift+J or Cmd+Shift+J on a Mac.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • New London restaurant openings and pop-ups
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Subscribe
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared | Movie review
Idomeneus at Gate | Theatre review