'New York, I love you', I love you.

Every moment another story begins

I didn't know what to expect when I bought New York, I Love You for £3.99 on Filmflex (Virgin Media's answer to Sky Box Office.) If I had any preconceptions, I assumed it would be similar to 'Valentine's Day'- big name stars, lots of interlinking love stories, one exciting city. And in a way, I was right. But in another, I was completely and utterly wrong. Main difference? New York I Love You is not your typical churned out of Hollywood, please the masses, adhere to social norms and conventions kind of film.

What I didn't know before watching is that New York, I Love You is the second episode in the 'Cities of Love' franchise, proceeded by Paris, je t'aime. Both films are made up of a number of short films/segments; New York, I Love You has 11 running at 1 hour 43 minutes, and Paris, je t'aime has 18 running at 2 hours. If this wasn't interesting enough, each segment in both films has its own writer and director, therefore making each individual story truly original and unique.

So, having had no prior knowledge of the film and very few expectations, I was blown away; I sat with a smile on my face throughout. Each story was acutely crafted, beautifully executed with some lovely cinematography showing off New York, and cleverly told in a number of different tones that ranged from funny to surprising, to cute, to sad and everything in between. 

By far the most impressive feat achieved however, was that no one story was conventional. Each was quirky, and yet still frighteningly realistic. I could go through each individually and praise them all ridiculously, but that would ruin it. I will just say that whether you're observing an old couple's stroll or an artist's longing, you're drawn hook line and sinker into the emotion of each story, and that's saying a lot when none of the segments exceed 15 minutes. 

For lack of articulating any more of my appreciation, I'll leave you with a comment from one critic:

New York, I Love You continues the Cities of Love series that began with Paris, je t'aime far surpassing it. (...) The vignettes are tied together into a single feature through a recurrent character, a videographer who interacts with the other characters. And transitional elements -- choreographed by 11th director Randy Balsmeyer -- move the viewer from one world to another, uniting all these intimate stories into a single shimmering fabric

Film fans, hopeless romantics, people sick of rom-coms and anyone else, I strongly recommend you watch this film. Maybe you won't love it as much as I do, but I still think you'll find it hard not to enjoy at least bits of it.

P.S If anyone can explain Shia LaBeouf's character to me that'd be great, because something about that whole segment made my heart break and I can't figure out what it was.

P.P.S Who else having seen it now wants to go to New York to find love?