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
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • 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

  • RSS

CultureCinemaMovie reviews

Welcome to New York

Welcome to New York | Movie review
4 August 2014
Keir Smith
Avatar
Keir Smith
4 August 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

Imperial Blue

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

MLK/FBI

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Sing Me a Song

★★★★★
Abbie Grundy
Read More

A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Wonder Woman 1984

★★★★★
Jake Cudsi
Read More

Come Away

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

Murder Me, Monster

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

David Byrne’s American Utopia

★★★★★
Rosamund Kelby
Read More

Dreamland

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
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

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Outside the Wire
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • You Me at Six – Suckapunch
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Rock Camp: The Movie
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ten short literary collections to get you back into reading
    Literature
  • Mayor
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

HOLI ONE Colour Festival brings rainbows to Wembley
Dessa Rose at Trafalgar Studios | Theatre review