What to expect
Gordon Willis’s widescreen black-and-white images give the city scale, darkness, and lyrical order. That beauty now sits in productive tension with relationships the film treats more lightly than many viewers will.
How to ease in
Separate admiration for the images from agreement with the characters. The film is easiest to assess when its visual romance and its ethical blind spots are both kept visible.
Heads-up
New York is photographed as a romance while its adults make a series of far less graceful choices.
I cannot let the skyline decide what is acceptable, but I also cannot pretend the skyline has no power. The conflict between those responses is now part of watching the film.
Open the note ↓
I cannot let the skyline decide what is acceptable, but I also cannot pretend the skyline has no power. The conflict between those responses is now part of watching the film.
— Momo
Where to go next
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