by Joseph Rossi
Gerard Depardieu gives a powerful performance in Abel Ferrara’s Welcome to New York.
Video On Demand is here to stay so why not make the best of it. I don’t even know if Ferrara’s character study even hit theatres after its debut at Cannes but it’s now available on VOD. This film polarized audiences in France for its connection to the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case, the french pollination who was charged of sexual assult on a hotel maid.
The film’s subtext is that of power. How power corrupts the soul. How too much power has an effect on the people close to you. The films central character has that power. It leads to him to do whatever he wants. That is until he goes to far and his life and the life of his high profile wife come under the scrutiny of the press and public opinion.
This story is told in two sections. The first is about orgies, lust, greed and the abuse of power. That is until his disregard to the importance of his position becomes his downfall. All the power in the world can’t stop him from being thrown in jail with common felons and having the media tear his life apart. The second section is a study on how power consumes a marriage. Out on bail and on house arrest, he and his wife have a verbal ballet on the struggles of marriage within their political and commerce heavy world.
Gerard Depardieu is monstrous here. All at once he can be egotistical, rude, funny, charming, heartbroken, and vicsious. He is one of the worlds great actors and this proves it. Jacqueline Bisset is equally good as his long suffering wife. Ferrara directs the film as if you’re a fly on the wall, catching bits and pieces of conversations, arguments and dealings, putting the viewer in the world of a high powered socialite.
If you have a chance to watch this film, please do. It may not be on par with the big budget Hollywood dramas but this world weary, low budget endeavor deserves a chance to be viewed.
