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CHELSEA WALLS Send This Review to a Friend
The Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street in New York City is renowned for having had so many interesting people as its residents over the years. It is particularly ironic that the characters portrayed in "Chelsea Walls," directed by Ethan Hawke, are such dullards.
The boring film, written by Nicole Burdette based on her play, has an interesting cast, including Uma Thurman, Natasha Richardson, Robert Sean Leonard, Kris Kristofferson, and Vincent D'Onofrio. What good moments that occur are due to what the performers can bring to the weak material.
Natasha Richardson makes the most of a key scene that she has, and Kris Kristofferson, a writer with a wife (Weld) and mistress (Richardson), is always fascinating to watch no matter what he does. But for the most part the film portrays a bunch of losers, and it is difficult to care much about any of them. Given the fact that such eminent people as Mark Twain, Tennessee Williams and Bob Dyan have been among the hotel's fabled residents, this lot, no matter which characters in real life may have inspired their creation, are people one tires of all to quickly.
Visually the film is also a murky job, and the incessant unappealing music is a further drag. Obviously Hawke was inspired to create something important with "Chelsea Walls," but he shouldn't be advised to give up his acting career just yet. A Lions Gate Films release.
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