Urbania (2000)

A tour of The Anger Stage.

Director:

Jon Shear

Writers:

Daniel Reitz (play), Daniel Reitz (screenplay)

Stars:

Dan Futterman, Scott Denny, Paige Turco

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dan Futterman	...	Charlie
Sam Ball	...	Dean (as Samuel Ball)
Lothaire Bluteau	...	Bill
Alan Cumming	...	Brett
Josh Hamilton	...	Matt
Matt Keeslar	...	Chris
James Simon	...	Sam
Megan Dodds	...	Deedee
Gabriel Olds	...	Ron
Barbara Sukowa	...	Clara - The Married Woman
Gerry Bamman	...	Don
Scott Denny	...	Ken
Pamela Shaw	...	Judy - The Photo Lady
David Wheir	...	Gary
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christopher Bradley	...	Efraim - The Window Couple

Storyline

Charlie takes an odyssey through grief during a fall weekend in New York City. His encounters are planned and chance: with a homeless man who sleeps by his building, with a friend who's dying, with the couple who lives (and noisily loves) in the flat above him, with a bartender and a one-night-stand he follows home, and with a tattooed stranger whom he seeks out and befriends. Along the way, Charlie inhabits a city full of moments of violence and of stories and legends: a kidney thief, a microwaved poodle, a rat in a hot dog bun, a baby left on a car top, a tourist's toothbrush, needles in public-phone change slots. Charlie lives and tells his own stories. What caused his melancholy?

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Plot Keywords:

new york | needle | tourist | hot dog bun | rat | 

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Taglines:

Heard any good stories lately?

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violent and sexual content, including related dialogue, and for language and some drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 2001 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Urban Folk Tales

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$225,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$72,129, 17 September 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,032,075

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daly-Harris Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The stocking hat that Bill puts on in his final meeting with Charlie, changes position between shots.

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Quotes

Charlie: Distract me, man. Take me out of my own head for two minutes.

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Connections

References Women in Love (1969)

User Reviews

Excellent movie.

I got this movie through Netflix. The first time I sat down to watch this movie, it was late at night and I thought it seemed sort of wierd. The first scene made me a bit squeemish, it didn't seem like what I was expecting, and I was being interrupted by phone calls anyway, and couldn't really give it my full attention, etc. so I thought, "well, I'll put that one aside for now and think about whether I really want to watch it." Finally, one evening I was rummaging around for something to watch and I saw this lying there and said, "OK, I'll give it another try." I am so glad that I did. As I let it play on from the beginning I found myself totally engrossed. Turns out it's very fast moving and you have to be on the ball to get everything out of the movie. The ending moved me to tears. This is a thriller with a dark thread of ironic comedy woven into a very serious and moving story. I love the writer's and director's use of urban legends. I think the film clearly illustrates how there really are injustices in this life, (ie: the story of the main characters), but how many horrible injustices in society get overlooked and dismissed as trivial, through the desensitization of being grouped together and schluffed off as 'just another one of those urban legends...it didn't happen in my back yard so it must never really happen...etc.'? But, as Charlie's character points out, "s**t really does happen". The truth is that these types of injustices happen often (whether to straights, gays, lesbians, people of color, homeless, handicapped, etc.) but it's always easy to overlook and dismiss as non-existant injustices that have never happened to you or anyone you know. No amount of denial can negate fact. No amount of mass ignorance can void truth. This film is not a good 1st or 2nd date movie and not a good choice for the person who has no depth of character, intellect or emotion. But if you are someone who has the ability to think deeply and see further than the end of your nose, and enjoy reflecting on a film after you see it, you will not be disappointed.