Chelsea Walls (2001)

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.

Director:

Ethan Hawke

Writers:

Nicole Burdette (play), Nicole Burdette,

Stars:

Bianca Hunter, Kevin Corrigan, Paz de la Huerta

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

Storyline

In New York's storied Chelsea Hotel, a novelist, a dancer, a painter, a poet, an aged jazz singer, and a young troubadour sort out their personal and artistic lives within walls haunted by the likes of Dylan Thomas, O. Henry, and Sarah Bernhardt. A boozy novelist balances wife, mistress, and stories. A dancer who's a waitress in the basement club chooses between a Hollywood jerk and a local painter. A youth from Minnesota who composes and sings may be the next Bob Dylan. A poet decides to give her feckless boyfriend another chance, even as her eyes tell us she knows what's ahead. An old jazz artist wants to place a bet and share his love for Lady Day. These walls do seem to talk.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | dancer | painter | poet | novelist | 

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Taglines:

a million stories tall

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Last Word on Paradise

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,003 (USA) (19 April 2002)

Gross:

$59,675 (USA) (14 June 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chelsea Walls Inc., IFC Productions, InDigEnt (Independent Digital Entertainment)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Ross: You're Bob Dylan? By any chance can I kiss your boot?
Terry Olsen: Fuck off.
Ross: Hey! You're from Minnesota, aren't ya? You must be him! Huh?
Terry Olsen: Seriously dude, fuck off.
Ross: Bob! Bob! Bob! Bob! Hey, listen to this, you're not going to believe this, man. I am down in the lobby, right? Right?
Terry Olsen: Yeah?
Ross: There's this guy, puttin' up a paintin'. So, I'm like, helpin' 'em with the ladder and shit. He tells me, he lives here, in a room just like this one... but he's got it all for free. Yup, all he's gotta do is give a paintin'...
[...]

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Connections

Version of Under Milk Wood (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Lament"
(1937)
Written by Dylan Thomas
Performed by John Seitz

User Reviews

"Fame" was better than this

I connect with what this thing is supposed to be, but the substance of these artists is poor. Nothing we see from them rises above the level of teenage poetry. The Chelsea Hotel is still a mecca for poets and artists, even if today it's more a mecca for kids of Kerouac. This movie shows the Chelsea as a mecca for 21st century sulking hipsters who learned hippy-dom from Woodstock DVDs. I don't think that's accurate. If you take away the artist premise and the reputation of the Chelsea as a setting, and replace it with a college dorm full of political science majors, you'd have an equally fascinating film.

But I find the building, the inside of that building, to be beautiful.