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RITTENHOUSE SQUARE Send This Review to a Friend
Robert Downey, as he long ago demonstrated with such works as “Putney Swope” and “Pound,” revels in doing films that are unusual. With “Rittenhouse Square,” a close-up of Philadelphia’s famous square that dates to Colonial times, Downey has made a lovely, lyrical film that concentrates on the historic place that continues to be a focal point of life and relaxation. He has also surveyed the characters frequenting it, and those who have made it a favorite haunt but have since left the scene.
Contrasted with an opening selection of drawings that show the square in bygone days, Rittenhouse Square now is preserved with its greenery and benches in the midst of vastly reconfigured surroundings marked by tall buildings instead of the gracious houses that once bordered it. While Downey is mindful of nature, he is most interested in people. He interviews them, dotes on them with the camera lens and envelops them in sweet perspective, staying away from the sensationalism so prevalent these days.
A young girl plays the violin beautifully (The Curtis Institute is nearby), and we repeatedly watch and listen to her as she becomes a pleasing refrain of the film. There are other musical performances as well, and various social events.
We see lovers enjoying the park and each other. We meet a man whose hobby is watching the attractive women who parade their figures and their clothes. We see people of all sizes and shapes, out for a stroll, walking their dogs. Grownups and children. The well dressed and the casual. And we become privy to conversations spurred by Downey.
The portrait may seem a bit repetitive, but overall it is an uplifting experience, graced with a fine, diverse soundtrack that accompanies the director’s sensitive approach. Produced by Philadelphian Max L. Raab.
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