Paul Schwartz wrote, directed and produced the short, documentary-style film, A New York Story. He is also a photographer and in this film, his photographer’s eye is clearly at work. This film, even though it is fictional, is, more than anything, a snapshot of a particular time and place by means of four portraits of four interconnected New Yorkers. Watching the film, I felt almost like I was looking at a selection of photographs by Helen Levitt, the famous street photographer of New York City. Each of these four portraits is beautifully composed and each story brings its own facet of the truth to light. This is a touching and powerful film that will hit close to home for many viewers.
Stylistically, A New York Story consists almost entirely of monologues. This is an elegantly simple way of presenting these stories. And even though it might seem like a fairly static and dull viewing experience, we’re drawn in immediately by the first character we hear and our attention is held firmly for the nearly fifty minute duration of the film. The writing here is very strong and each character is charming in their own way. We’re pulled in several different directions here, and each time we’re convinced.
One of the keys to great and original art is that it be limited in some way. It is the pressure of limits and rules that often forces artists to think in new ways and to channel their energy in new directions. In A New York Story, Schwartz had to figure out a way to tell his story while filming during a pandemic. His decision to shoot each character individually on separate days by himself was born from his desire to maintain strict Covid protocols. And this limitation was the catalyst for the documentary-style format.
The opening premise is that of Adam Schiffman, a 35 year-old barista who aspires to one day become a professional journalist. It’s late May in 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic is raging in New York. At the same time, the murder of George Floyd has just sparked protests across the United States. Adam has decided that this might be his opportunity to get ahead in the journalism game. He learns from the protesters that no mainstream media outlets are willing to send their own people in to speak with those protesting against the police. Through his interactions with a woman he meets at the protest, his eyes are opened to some of the realities faced by people of color in the United States. Although Adam is a sympathetic character, I couldn’t help doing a facepalm when he said he wore a mask all the time at the protest, unless the guy he was talking to couldn’t hear him. In that case, he pulled down his mask so he could shout more effectively. Adam seems to have a good heart, but might not be the brightest fellow.
After Adam sets the stage, we hear from his father, a well-meaning owner of an insurance company who’s distraught by his son’s lack of direction. He’s a well-meaning conservative whose sympathies are with the police. And when he speaks, he makes a lot of sense. One of the most powerful ways to create drama and tension in a film is for the writer to ask him or herself what the characters are arguing about and why each one is right. Schwartz has clearly mastered this technique. We’re presented with persuasive versions of diametrically opposed viewpoints. This trend continues with the portraits of Adam’s mother and a doctor facing pressures from the Department of Homeland Security, the pandemic and, now, a flood of injured and bleeding protesters pouring in after clashes with the police.
The overall effect here is of a population overwhelmed by political unrest and a rampaging virus. And we see both the macro and micro effects of all this upheaval by looking at how these large-scale events affect one family and a doctor. When the news every day keeps spewing numbers at us, maybe higher, maybe lower, this films is a healthy reminder that there are individual stories behind each of those numbers and that each of those individuals is connected to a whole web of other individuals. The paraphrase John Donne, if a clod is washed into the sea, Europe is the less because he is a part of mankind. Similarly, Schwartz reminds us that we are all connected one way or another and that no one is unaffected by the turmoil surrounding us today.
by: Darida Rose
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.