|
This is a charming romantic
fantasy that takes place at two age levels. It portrays a young,
spacey, good-natured waitress who works in a New York diner, and
falls in love with a cab driver/hopeful novelist. The film revolves
around the "comedy of errors," the chain reaction of
misunderstandings that takes place between them. It allows director
Amos Kollek to have fun cruising his camera over the New York
scene. But in contrast to Woody Allen's loving depiction of upper-class
New York, Kollek endearingly reveals the funky, lower class neighborhoods.
He shows the very human and idiosyncratic, often sex-obsessed
side of New York.
But his greatest sensitivity is reserved
for the sixty-plus men who eat at the diner, discussing the fears
that their bodies will fail them, confronting their loneliness.
Each approaches his elder years in a different way. The more hale-and-hearty,
live-it-up-while-you-can indulges himself with heavy carbohydrates
and peek shows, while the quieter, more dignified man seeks companonship
as well as sex. He decides to try his luck finding someone through
the personals in the newspaper. He is fortunate to meet a lovely
widow he deels he could love. Kollek juxtaposes the relationships
between the younger and older couple. And while the younger couple
must overcome personality quirks and objective mishaps, the older
couple confronts fears germane to their age. The woman lies about
her age and economic status for fear of rejection, while the man
continually puts off intimacy, for fear that he won't be able
to make it. It's been many years since he slept with a woman.
At times this can be downright funny, as when she finally gets
into bed with him, wearing her housecoat, so he won't be overwhelmed.
The sensitivity that Kollek exhibits to the fears of a failing
body, the problems of creating new relationships later in years
is what makes this film an exceptionally poignant one.
|
