New York Stories, an omnibus comprising of three short films based on New York and New Yorkers, bears the astounding distinction of serving as the confluence of three of the greatest American filmmakers – Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen. Scorsese’s Life Lessons is about an ageing, moody and brilliant painter (a compelling Nick Nolte) in self-destructive love with a bitchy and much younger girl; Coppola’s Life Without Zoe deals with a few days in the life of Zoe, a lonely 12-year girl and daughter of a renowned, globe-trotting flautist; Allen’s Oedipus Wrecks concerns a successful Jewish lawyer (played by Allen himself) whose life and relationship (with Mia Farrow) are on the docks courtesy his domineering mother. Scorsese and Allen have, over their careers, created masterpieces with Big Apple as the backdrop, and their shorts, though never equaling their best works, are certainly worth a watch – Scorsese’s edgy and melancholic, while Allen’s darkly funny and self-deprecating. The one by Coppola, however, tuned out to be rambling, a tad pretentious, and thus ultimately disappointing – saved only by the fact that his fantastical short was sandwiched between two reasonably assured works. The three shorts do not have any connecting thread apart from their locale, thus making the whole seem disjointed; nonetheless, any project that brings such powerhouse filmmakers on the same platform should automatically become a must-watch for any cinephile worth his salt.
Directors: Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola & Woody Allen
Genre: Drama/Romance/Black Comedy/Fantasy/Urban Comedy/Satire/Omnibus Film
Language: English
Country: US