A Rainy Day in New York

If you can't do better, a normal life will do. Another beautiful Woody Allen film, and I couldn't care less how many other beautiful Woody Allen films it reminded me of. I spent an hour and a half enjoying the lightness and the great performances (like Elle Fanning's hiccupping – the increasingly dazed yet cute Elle Fanning is particularly amazing). (10/07/2019)

Woody Allen cannot be denied a unique style and, above all, a remarkable flair for natural dialogue, which he uses to demonstrate his characters' motives in a very sensitive and kind way. Although his latest film is set in the big-city backdrop of present-day New York, there is an ever-present kind of warm retro atmosphere that can be interpreted as one of Woody's other nostalgic sighs of relief, or as a benevolent hope. A hope that even in these overexposed times it pays to listen to the voice of one's heart, despite social pressures or expectations from one's immediate surroundings. In fact, A Rainy Day in New York is one of Allen's most optimistic films. While it takes place in a kind of bitterly melancholic haze, it contains no heated or emotionally draining conflicts. Just a pleasant film that caresses the soul and the heart. (08/23/2020)

New York in a romantic vibe, milked to the max. Allen is a little weaker this time and too laconic in story creation, but typically lively and topical in dialogue, and some of the scenes are full of life's truths and paradoxes. By far the most interesting are the characters who appear on the scene only briefly but have an absolutely crucial impact on the development of the story (Diego Luna, Kelly Rohrbach). Woody doesn't pull as hard on the reins this time as in his other films, but it's still light and fun fare for a Saturday afternoon. (08/01/2020)

Who would have thought that just A Rainy Day in New York would be the Allen's movie that gets the ax? I don't want to comment on that case, but I'm glad that the film itself is still a classic Allen from recent years, formally and stylistically fitting in among all those proven pieces that Allen has created since 2000. Nothing is missing, everything is here - traditional sophisticated work with music, love for New York, beautifully chatty characters, intertwined relationships, interesting life perspectives. One girl is blonde, the other is a brunette. He is young and unspoiled and has a fascinating mother. Unexpected things happen behind the scenes. And in New York it keeps raining and raining... Beautiful and intoxicating. As always. (12/21/2022)

Not an over-produced self-indulgent coloring book, but instead the best Woody Allen film since Midnight in Paris. Timothée Chalamet's versatile talent fits the rainy streets of New York to a tee, and perhaps it is exactly that light-hearted posing in art galleries, parties, filmmakers, and reminiscing about decades-old art that is so accurately and pleasantly reflected on his melancholic face. I can't deny that the same jokes are made about the same topics for the umpteenth time, as are the relationship complications, but when the result is such a well-crafted introspective romantic comedy, I will gladly give it a go for the fifty-first time. (10/09/2019)