Welcome to New York (2014)

Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Welcome to New York” marks a polemic return from American independent filmmaker, Abel Ferrara (“Ms.45”, “Bad Lieutenant”, “The Funeral”), who co-wrote the script, inspired on the sexual scandal that involved Dominique Strauss-Khan, a French economist and politician, when he stayed in a New York’s hotel for one night. The story starts with Devereaux (Gerard Depardieu) participating in some intense debauchery scenes where drinks, food and carnal pleasures, seem to enchant him. When a hotel maid enters in his room proffering ‘housekeeping’, Devereaux gets out of his bath and forces her to have sexual contact with him. A sexual assault that sent him to prison, triggering a series of investigations and legal procedures in order to find the truth. I wonder why Ferrara’s cinema is so involving and the answer basically resides in his fearless of assuming what he wants to tell. It’s raw, it’s direct, it’s bold… it’s repellent in so many ways, but it’s what he believes, delivering the message bluntly. A sarcastic humor balances quite well all the sad spectacle witnessed, and even knowing that the film is tendentious and speculative in a way, I couldn’t get my eyes off of the screen. Provocative, incisive, and highly entertaining, “Welcome to New York” brings us perfect performances by Depardieux and Jacqueline Bisset as the ‘monster’s wife, and shows us that Ferrara returned to good shape with a very natural filmmaking, precise camera work, distinctive image composition, and exhibiting great confidence in what he intends to point out. All good motives for you to watch it.