MRMOVIESETC
REVIEWS:
“The Only Living
Boy in New York” (2017)
"I haven't done much with my life."
"You've had sex with your father's mistress. I'd say that's something."
I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. I’ll get it out of my
system now…
“There are gods, and then there is Kate Beckinsale
For whom the gods lustfully envy”
What? It’s better than saying “She’s fucking hot” all the
time.
She is, though.
***
Eh.
“The Only Living Boy in New York” walks that blurry, thin
line between a film that could be considered legitimately sort of good and a
film that fundamentally works so it’s tempting to call it good more than it
deserves. The main issue with all of it is not so much the twist that you’re
going to see coming almost immediately in a runtime that is already short, but
all of its strengths lie on the surface. There is some good stuff to take in on
that level, to be certain, however, the film lacks a soul that would have made
it stick with anybody a lot longer than a few hours after it ends.
One good thing that I did end up liking about “Living Boy”
and its narrative was its transition from what looked like a coming-of-age
romantic drama in the beginning to something more like a study of a set of
characters marred by their own illusions of weakness. It is enjoyable-ish to
see it all play out, even if it does still feel hollower than it should.
Thomas Webb (Callum Turner) is a talented writer living
in Brooklyn, whom has lost his sense of direction mainly due to his overbearing
father, Ethan (Pierce Brosnan), deterring him from his passions of literature.
To fill his time, he relentlessly tries to win the romantic affections of his
friend Mimi (Kiersey Clemons), whom admittedly does like to tease him along,
but keeps a firm stance on their remaining only friends. Being a young man in
his early twenties and chemicals raging away in his brain - and other places - he
often handles the rejection rather childishly.
One day, while catching a show together, Thomas and Mimi
catch Ethan in the act of having an affair with a gorgeous woman named Johanna
(Kate Beckinsale). Thomas doesn’t appear nearly as concerned about the ramifications
of this on his father, as the two are not very close, than he is with how badly
it will affect his mother, Judith (Cynthia Nixon), whom suffers from severe
depression and sees her family as the only perfect thing in her life holding
her sanity together most days. He then takes it upon himself to follow Johanna
around until he can properly confront her and demand she break it off with his
father. Much to his shock, Johanna falls into lust with Thomas, which, while
obviously a good time, complicates the matters at hand that much more.
Between all of these events, it’s worth mentioning that Thomas
has been getting the advice of a new, wise, and drunken neighbor, W. F. Gerald
(Jeff Bridges). Thomas begins to see W.F. as a father figure that helps steer
him out of his shell and go after the affections he craves with more
confidence, including Johanna.
All of that doesn’t sound like it would cover a decent
chunk of the plot, but it really kind of does. That’s not altogether a bad
thing as this movie definitely would have been crippled from any unnecessary convolution.
Interestingly enough, though the plot would make her sound like nothing more
than an object of sexual desire for two men, Johanna’s impact is something far
greater and serves as an interesting catalyst to set the unraveling of all
personal demons in motion in an unexpected way. I won’t spoil it, though I
really want to because it’s easily the most redeemable aspect of a story that
is rather thin otherwise. In fact, I would say this angle was almost too good
and made everything else going on look weaker and lackadaisical by contrast.
Being a character-driven drama, the cast brings very
little to complain about in their efforts to make sure “Living Boy” never
entirely sinks. Bridges has been playing the drunk yet wise old man for so long
that it is a science; Beckinsale is still average as far as her range is
concerned, though she knows just how to make the room warmer on purpose;
Brosnan is more or less phoning it in, but he’s “serviceable” (inside joke from
the movie); and both Turner and Clemons are by far the most intriguing of the
bunch with an intentionally awkward chemistry that gels almost perfectly alongside
the equally great banter between Bridges and Turner.
Like I’ve hinted at a few times, the film’s main falling
point is its story. I almost want to compare it to a piece of furniture that
one would get from IKEA. It has a basic, barebones design that looks nice when
assembled properly, but there is nothing particularly vibrant about the
craftsmanship. “Living Boy” is essentially Storytelling 101 that lacks the ebbs
and flows and depth that could have made it hit so much more forcefully.
Instead, we’re left with a film that, while thankfully doesn’t overstay its
welcome, was too afraid to do anything beyond simple, functional mechanics. I
don’t mind simplicity, not in the least, but in this case, it’s not done in
service to the feature. There are no genuine surprises at any stage either; a
feat that an A-list cast like this could have pulled off in their sleep if only
they had been given the chance.
Other than that, there’s not much else I can say. At the
end of the day, I somehow still had some fun watching this one play out. I only
wish it came in with more of an attitude to reach for more rather than settling
for easy.
It’s not exactly recommended, but on the plus side, if
you do decide to see it, it won’t take up much of your time.
“The Only Living Boy in New York”: 5.5/10
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