Brilliant and touching

Absolutely the worst movie.

Absolutely Fantastic

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This trifle of a movie seems a shameless ripoff of "Before Sunrise," which succeeded where this one fails because we never care a whit for the characters.Set against the considerably less impressive backdrop of Park Slope, Brooklyn, "Quiet City" follows the maunderings and meanderings of Jamie, an Atlanta waitress, and jobless Charlie after they have met randomly in a subway station. Not exactly Dumb and Dumber, this pair more approximates Uninteresting and Uninterestinger.Both "Before Sunrise" and "Quiet City" owe a huge debt to Woody Allen, as both seem to strive for breezy candor between interlocutors. Whereas the former film's protagonists had some life experience behind them and thus compelling things to say, Jamie and Charlie are staggeringly vacant and dull. It's painful to watch Jamie self-stimulating with a Superball (during a walk with Charlie) and escaping him at a party to tinker with a drum set. (Perhaps such pursuits are more gratifying than trying to penetrate this lunk.)But Jamie -- who always seems to want to connect more than Charlie does -- just labors on. In the penultimate scene, she manages to get him to actually lean his head against hers during a nuzzle. But then she's headed back to Atlanta in the next frame. I guess all this is supposed to be deep.This movie was co-written by the actors who played Jamie and Charlie, making this glorified film-school project the movie equivalent of a vanity novel.At 125 minutes in length, it's such a quiet waste!

This film is one of the most beautiful and poignant that I've ever seen. I'm 23, and to finally see a film that accurately portrays the conversation, fears and apathy of 21st century post-uni lifestyle is absolutely liberating. There's a great essay with the DVD which points to Tzu and Cassavettes (sic.) as pioneers in this genre and influences which I'm sure are fair and true but it's not the cine-literate side of this film I love. It's the human side. The side where a simple silly dance between 4 people in a room is an expression of utter freedom. The side where a mere high five is f****** monumental. Conversations with strangers that go nowhere and do nothing and all the while the city is peaceful and contemplative. The trains keep going, the traffic lights keep changing.Take a chance on this movie if your eyes and ears are open to a different perspective on twenty something life.

Katz's third feature is a rather sweet offering about a boy and girl who meet accidentally and form a close friendship over the space of a weekend. It's best viewed without too many expectations - the rough cinematography and absence of plot will disappoint some film-goers, however both the characters and the performances are convincing and endearing, and the mood is suitably quirky throughout.Yes, the movie is somewhat self-indulgent; some scenes would have benefited from a trimming-down, yet the narrative flow is unhindered by the slower pace. Although Katz doesn't emerge from 'Quiet City' as a director with an agenda, after his tedious comment on teenage rape, 'Dance Party USA', it's perhaps for the best that he sticks to observational film-making, and leaves social commentary well alone.

I must admit I don't know anything about independent films('mumblecore', is it?), but I stumbled onto this one after seeing more commercially successful indie films like Donnie Darko, Memento and Interview. 'Quiet City', a beautiful sounding title I might add, pleasantly surprised me. As another reviewer mentioned, the writers/directors focused on dialog, which is a refreshing experience for this blockbuster frequenter. I've seen some other small films where they take on too heavy subjects like really finding the meaning of life or why we die etc. Which, for me, made those movies come across pretentious because in my humble opinion it's pretty arrogant if you think you have a quick, easy answer for life's most difficult questions. It's not wrong to have a vision of your own but if you're not Stanley Kubrick (see: 2001) you probably shouldn't touch the subject (especially as a young filmmaker). 'Quiet City' did not make this mistake, the dialog seemed realistic and honest and the acting was very natural. No big climaxes or plot twists but a little taste of the good simple life in New York. Nice, but only for people who like alternative film.