welcome to new york movie review

Welcome to New York

[This is a review of the 109-minute cut of “Welcome to NewYork” that IFC is releasing theatrically and on VOD. We have chosen not to rate this version of the film since it’s not the film its creators intended to release.]

At its heart, “Welcome to New York,” director/co-writer Abel Ferrara’s dramatization of the real-life New York v. Strauss-Kahn court case, is a political drama. The film follows Devereaux ( Gerard Depardieu ), a stand-in for French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn, before and after he rapes a hotel maid. The 109-minute version of “Welcome to New York” adds an “allegedly” before that accusation, showing the rape through a flashback that may or may not have happened. This is the first of several cuts that alter the meaning of Ferrara’s film, a character study of an absurd, unrepentant monster. The version of “Welcome to New York” that IFC Films is releasing—the film’s producers at Wild Bunch cut the film against Ferrara’s wishes, from 125 minutes down to 109—isn’t as powerful, intelligent, or coherent. To put it bluntly: the version of “Welcome to New York” that’s being released today isn’t worth seeing.

If you only see the 109-minute version of “Welcome to New York,” you might notice that the film’s first half feels sped up. Events that lead to the rape of an unnamed maid (Pamela Afesi) play out at a normal rate, but not once Devereaux gets to his hotel room. We see Devereaux go to his hotel room, briefly have sex with a prostitute, and then join two unidentified male friends in dousing a group of ladies of the night in alcohol. He takes a cab to JFK airport, and is then arrested, and bailed out by his impatient wife Simone ( Jacqueline Bisset ).

These introductory moments are crucial. They establish Devereaux’s unstable character, and relate his self-image as a ravenous animal. Like many of Ferrara’s characters, Devereaux is knowingly putting on a show, and effectively heeding advice that Ferrara once gave Gavin Smith in a 1997  Sight & Sound  interview: “Once you’re a predator, you better take it all the way.” You can’t really see Devereaux’s complex motives in the film’s 109-minute version, and that makes the film’s second half, which relies on the deterioration of Devereaux as a natural performer, fairly insubstantial. You might not notice the omission of key scenes where Devereaux both gives and receives oral pleasure, and prematurely climaxes while grunting like a boar. And you probably won’t notice that, in a missing scene, two power-high prostitutes leave Devereaux’s room, and heedlessly kiss and fondle each other until they bump into two other hotel patrons. 

But you can’t ignore the rushed editing of the 109-minute cut’s sex scenes. In these over-edited sequences, you don’t get any real insight into Devereaux, and therefore can’t understand why his attitude is infectious, and therefore dangerous. Without that connection, there’s nothing to the scene where Josh (JD Taylor), the man that’s dating Devereaux’s daughter Sophie (Marie Moute), gives in to Devereaux’s wolfish questioning, and tells Devereaux that “the f**king” of Sophie is quite “wonderful.” You can form your own conclusions based on what remains on the screen, but essential context is missing.

More importantly, the 109-minute version of “Welcome to New York” undermines the film’s basic meaning by re-positioning the maid’s rape as a flashback. We see Devereaux advancing on the maid, then hear a scream from behind a closed hotel door. But we only see Devereaux advance on, and attack his maid later, when she’s giving her statement to the New York Police Department. This changes the meaning of the film, though a scene where Afesi’s maid picks Devereaux out of a line-up helps somewhat.

In the 109-minute cut, Devereaux’s crisis of personality makes sense, but feels generic, like bad karma catching up with some gross guy. Moreover, by making the maid’s rape a flashback, the producers suggest that maybe Devereaux isn’t completely guilty. They create ambiguity where they shouldn’t be any: rape is what happens when men think they can turn unwilling victims into supporting characters in their own power play. If you allow that  maybe  Devereaux’s not guilty, or that we don’t  really  know what a fictional character did, then the film loses its righteous fury.

I tried to watch the 109-minute cut of “Welcome to NewYork” as if it were my first exposure to the film. The film I saw basically made sense, and was essentially watchable. But it’s not right to change what might have been one of the best films of the year—the 125-minute cut is very good—until it’s just sort of, kind of tolerable. Hopefully, Ferrara can resolve his disputes with Wild Bunch and IFC, because “Welcome to New York” deserves to be seen—just not like this.

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Vanity Fair ,  The Village Voice,  and elsewhere.

• Amy Ferguson as Renee
• Jacqueline Bisset as Simone
• Drena De Niro as Entourage Member
• Paul Hipp as Guy
• Gérard Depardieu as Devereaux
• Paul Calderon as Pierre
• Ronald Guttman as Roullot
• Abel Ferrara
• Christ Zois

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Summary Inspired by one of the most high-profile public implosions in recent memory, Welcome to New York follows a prominent international banker (Gérard Depardieu) as he spirals out of control during a drug and sex-fueled trip to America—culminating in a shocking incident involving a hotel maid and his subsequent arrest. [IFC Films]

Directed By : Abel Ferrara

Written By : Abel Ferrara, Christ Zois

Welcome to New York

Where to watch.

Gérard Depardieu

Jacqueline bisset, shanyn leigh, female journalist, marie mouté, sophie devereaux, charlotte silvera, french female journalist, ronald guttman, elizabeth kemp, drena de niro, executive assistant, anna lakomy, samantha opitz, hotel receptionist, ilinca kiss, paul calderon, kathryn lill, caroline huet, lucy campbell, raquel nave, russian desiree, natasha romanova, russian elena, victoria reton, little girl, pamela afesi, critic reviews.

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Review:  ‘Welcome to New York’ a fearless take on real-life sex scandal

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Idiosyncratic filmmaker Abel Ferrara (“Bad Lieutenant,” “The Funeral”) takes on the provocative 2011 case of former International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the barely veiled drama “Welcome to New York.” This frank, unruly look at sex, privilege and power unfolds so much like real life that it proves an intriguing and strangely immersive experience.

Gérard Depardieu, in one of the most uninhibited recent screen appearances by any notable actor, plays George Devereaux, a super-rich, sex-addicted financier — and prospective president of France — whose appetites are as outsized as his waistline.

One night, after partying with hookers in his Manhattan hotel suite, Devereaux sexually assaults a terrified housekeeper (Pamela Afesi). This leads to a near-immediate arrest and humiliating police proceedings (fair warning, you’ll witness the rotund Depardieu undergoing a strip search), and the banker is sentenced to house arrest.

Meanwhile, Deveraux’s ambitious wife, Simone (Jacqueline Bisset, excellent), flies in from Paris to help attend to her husband’s mess, and she rents the $60,000-a-month townhouse in which they’ll live as he awaits trial. (In reality, charges against Strauss-Kahn were dropped, but a civil suit resulted in a payout to the housekeeper.)

Ferrara, who co-wrote the often free-form script with Chris Zois, is at his best here capturing the fraught, complex dynamic between the shrewd Simone and the unapologetic George. Their raw moments together, enhanced by the fearless work of Depardieu and Bisset, are riveting.

Untidy shooting and editing, naturalistic lighting, plus the use of actual individuals and locations from Strauss-Kahn’s 2011 New York days add to the movie’s you-are-there vibe.

------------

“Welcome to New York”

MPAA rating: R for strong sexuality, graphic nudity, rape, language.

Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes. In English and French with subtitles.

Playing: Arena Cinema, Hollywood.

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Welcome to New York Reviews

Truth be told, parts of the film are fun. If only all of it was equally so, this piece of unpretentious whimsy might have been a far breezier ride. But it is a big, imposing IF that stares us in the face.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 27, 2020

Why 3D, why make this movie, why give Karan Johar a double role, why not use more cameos? Why watch this indulgent snoozefest?

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Mar 14, 2019

Welcome to New York doesn't feel like a film. It plays out more like an extended skit or a school play.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Sep 5, 2018

Welcome To New York is anything but a cohesive film.

Full Review | Jul 10, 2018

There is ultimately no difference between the supposedly bad-taste IIFA awards and the movie's overall lack of judgement about the level at which the humour is pitched.

Full Review | Feb 23, 2018

It's not worth wasting your time, money, patience and intelligence on this mind-numbing promotional video.

Full Review | Original Score: 0.5/5 | Feb 23, 2018

It's a fresh idea and better execution would have turned it into an eminently enjoyable film. That said, we reiterate that it's seldom that the film industry agrees to laugh at itself and the film should be appreciated for that fact alone.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 22, 2018

Welcome To New York movie review: This Sonakshi Sinha starrer is a lame tribute to Bollywood

Welcome to new york movie review: you wish there was more savagery and skewering all round, but welcome to new york, starring diljit dosanjh, sonakshi sinha, karan johar and riteish deshmukh, turns out to be a limp, lame tribute to bollywood..

Welcome To New York movie cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Sonakshi Sinha, Karan Johar, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani, Rana Dagubatti Welcome To New York movie director: Chakri Toleti Welcome To New York movie rating: 1 star

When you hear Karan Johar , playing Karan Johar, he who wears many Bollywood hats and limited-edition designer shoes, say: ‘Vaada? But what about my Prada?’ you laugh, as you are meant to. You hope that that will set the tone for Welcome To New York, and settle in for a so bad-it’s-terrific film.

But sadly, there is no bite to the badness of this enterprise, which is less a film, more an extended show-reel to celebrate an awards function called IIFA (International Indian Film Academy), which carts A-list Bollywood stars, and their hangers-on, to glamour-starved NRI audiences.

So this is what we get – Boman Irani (the guy who is running the show), Lara Dutta (the crook who wants to ruin the show), Sonakshi Sinha and Diljit Dosanjh (the Gujju girl who dreams of designing dresses for Salman Khan , and the ‘gabru Punjabi munda’ who wants to become a star, as part of the show), Riteish Deshmukh (who is hired to anchor the show), and Karan Johar, who IS the show.

Did I say show? If Welcome To New York had been a trenchant look at the whole business of award shows, with the machinations and the money and the drama that goes on both on and off stage, we may have had a film on our hands. But this one just tells, with everyone speaking their lines loudly, including Dosanjh who can be quite droll, but comes off dull. As does Sinha, who pairs ‘bindis’ with all her outfits, and swoons at the sight of Salman Bhai.

The ‘jodi’ that does have some fun on the side is Deshmukh and Johar (in a double role), especially the latter who gets to send up his designer loving, romance-creating filmmaker persona with, yes, some amount of winking gay abandon. Some of those jokes, especially when Johar lets himself go, are worth a couple of snickers.

You wish there was more savagery and skewering all round, but Welcome To New York turns out to be a limp, lame tribute to Bollywood. Why would I bother to see this in a film, when TV shows are full of it?

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