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:

Paz de la Huerta, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bianca Hunter

3 nominations.

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

painter | novelist | dancer | poet | hotel | 

---

Taglines:

a million stories tall

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 2002 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Last Word on Paradise

Filming Locations:

Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,003, 21 April 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$59,675, 16 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?

Trivia

Tuesday Weld's last film appearance as of 2017.

---

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'...
[...]

---

Connections

Version of Under Milk Wood (1971)

---

Soundtracks

Softly and Tenderly (Jesus Is Calling)
(1880)
Written by Will L. Thompson
Performed by Robert Sean Leonard

User Reviews

The Lives of Artists in the Famous Artist Hotel in New York

Screenwriter Nicole Burdette's female scrutiny of the male gender in Chelsea walls can be painful at times. The men in the film, except one, are artists desperately devoted to their chosen callings who have trouble loving anything beyond their own work. Of course this is a problem for men well beyond the Chelsea Hotel Bohemian microcosm, so the film has a universal reach. The use of sound is especially impressive, as music and conversation will bleed over into a new scene with new characters like sound travels through hotel walls, giving the film a dream-like quality. Also impressive is the number of characters and story lines the film carries (as can be seen by the list of characters). The film cuts between the numerous story lines and then returns to them in a masterful way that never leaves you lost. It's not a happy film and offers little in the way of redemption, except perhaps in the young Vietnamese poet's capacity for love, yet the use of music, poetry, and the mesmerizing way the stories are folded together and told, make the movie a lovely and insightful viewing experience.