Chelsea Walls (2001)

Director:

Ethan Hawke

Writers:

Nicole Burdette (play)
Nicole Burdette (written by) ...

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

a million stories tall

Plot:

This movie tells five stories set in a single day at the famed Chelsea Hotel in New York City, involving an ensemble cast of some 30-35 characters.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Novelist | Painter | Poet | Dancer

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Bianca Hunter	...	Lorna Doone
Kevin Corrigan	...	Crutches
Rosario Dawson	...	Audrey
Matthew Del Negro	...	Rookie Cop
Paz de la Huerta	...	Girl (as Paz De La Huerta)
Guillermo Díaz	...	Kid
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Frank
Paul D. Failla	...	Cop (as Paul Failla)
Kris Kristofferson	...	Bud
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Terry Olsen
Duane McLaughlin	...	Wall
Natasha Richardson	...	Mary
Jimmy Scott	...	Skinny Bones
John Seitz	...	Dean
Mark Strand	...	Journalist

Also Known As:

Chelsea Hotel
Last Word on Paradise (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA (cable rating) | USA:R | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Chelsea Hotel - 222 West 23rd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Chelsea Walls Inc.

Quotes:

Terry Olsen: Why do they call you Lorna Doone? Ain't that a cookie?
Lorna Doone: You can call me whatever you want.

Movie Connections:

References "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Remember Me

The insufferable hunger of the damned

There are many lines like the one above in this film. Ethan Hawke in his first work as a director has tried to capture the feeling of these modern beatniks who reside in the Chelsea Hotel in NYC and have chosen for themselves a way of life that is different than the kind of life our society would consider successful. These people aren't even artists, they're just artist wannabes. A little boy says it very clearly "It's hard to say who really is a poet these days". What makes them interesting and what they have in common is that they can't stand the modern world, their perspective on life and the belief that happiness is in simple things. There are several moments in this film that make that so clear. One of them is when Val tells Audrey (played brilliantly by Rosario Dawson) "We only have 43 dollars" and her answer is "We're just living Val. Lots of people do that.". While I was watching this film I was thinking of something I had heard in Charlie Kauffman's 'Adaptation'. "In real life nothing really happens" and I think that's exactly what Ethan Hawke's purpose is, to show us the life of some not so ordinary people who however have feelings and ordinary problems. Ethan Hawke has a wonderful script in his hands, but he fails to deliver and that's the most diappointing thing about this film. But other than that this film has so many beautiful poetic moments that it's worth watching. I understand though that if you never dreamed of this kind of life, if everything that you think matters is to make money in order to afford the comforts of modern life then this film will never appeal to you.