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

When Matt is describing his encounter with Clara, she eats the cherry the moment he gives her the drink, but in subsequent shots, the cherry is still floating on the surface of the drink.

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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

Charlie (Dan Futterman) wanders around NYC one night looking for another man who (might) have something he is looking for.

That's all I'm going to say about this--you have to see the film to understand it. The film starts off slow (and surreal) but quickly draws you in with fast, incredible images and a plot that becomes clearer as the movie goes on. Dan Futterman is just superb in his role...this had to have been a difficult part to play but he pulls it off. Actually no one is bad but Matt Keeslar (as his lover Chris) and Samuel Bell (as Dean) deserve special mention.

This film is not for everybody. It challenges you and makes you think (how many films nowadays do that?) and is very dark, disturbing and depressing. It also demands multiple viewings (I had to see it twice to actually understand it). Also there is some violence that is jarring. But, at the end, I was in tears--I've seen this movie at least seven times and I STILL cry at the ending. It's actually a happy ending (sort of) but really hits hard.

Basically this film deals with love, loss and coming to terms with it. Also there are urban legends played out during the film--they DO fit in. It deals with gay relationships primarily and there's plenty of kissing and flashes of nudity. Easily one of the best films of 2000 and it's in my list as one of the ten top films ever made. Just great--I highly recommend this.

Try to see it on DVD--the commentary and extras really explain the story and themes more.