Sidewalks of New York : Production Notes


" Made with Pride in the U. S. A. " is how the filmmakers describe the production process in the end credits of Sidewalks of New York. The movie is made with energy and a resourceful shooting style that encourages a sense of speed and unobtrusive movement - the camera follows the characters in action, rather than viewing them at a distance.

We are the audience with Tommy (Edward Burns), the outer-borough guy uncomfortable with his own success, as he pursues Maria (Rosario Dawson) a young teacher who has been out of the dating game since her divorce. We endure slick seducer Carpo's (Dennis Farina) advice on how to "score. " Then we witness Maria as Benjamin (David Krumholtz), her boyish ex-husband, tries to win her back but fails with spectacular style. We switch to follow Benjamin, as he avoids surprisingly sensible advice from his band mate Gio (Michael Leydon Campbell) and locks his heart and hopes on a pretty waitress. Ashley in turn, is tied up in an affair with a married man Griffin (Stanley Tucci), whose neglected trophy wife Annie (Heather Graham) meets Tommy and starts to consider what might happen next…

Burns' story structure is based on following these lines of connection. Emotional intersections seem almost random at first, but then separate each story flows together as characters come into conflict and resolution. For all its "run-and-gun" energy, Sidewalks of New York reveals itself to be a carefully interwoven "circle of love," much like Max Ophuls' graceful classic La Ronde (1950). Another film of the early 1950s was also a strong influence for Burns: the Italian neo-realist anthology picture Amore in Citta (1953), in which a young Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni (along with four other directors) explored episodes of romance in Rome.

"I wanted to capture the way it feels to be alive in New York City right now," Burns says, "To show people in the midst of their lives, making choices, making changes. I wanted to have the feeling of an investigation -- to tell the story of a wide range of characters, but still get close to each one of them. Shooting a tight-knit story in an immediate style, drawing the audience into the process -- it seemed to me the way to go. "

"Working with Spielberg on Saving Private Ryan, I saw how quickly and effectively Spielberg could work by using a handheld camera and available light. Being an independent filmmaker who works with lower budgets, I thought, 'why not use those tactics to make my film more quickly and cost efficient, while also creating a sense of immediacy and intimacy in the storytelling?" says Burns.

He continues: "Being an independent, not having anyone looking over our shoulder, is a freer way to work. " Once Burns and his crew decided they could shoot without conventional coverage, they lost the need to dress every set for the reverse. The same apartment could be broken up and employed for four different uses: Annie and Griffin's living room, an elevator interior, Hilary and Harry's yuppie dining room and Maria's doctors office. Actors shared one wardrobe trailer which also served as rehearsal space to prepare for upcoming scenes. The film was shot throughout the streets of New York in 17 days.

Actor Stanley Tucci points out that the intensity of a tight shooting schedule actually helps the performers hold emotional focus. "It's all about the work," Tucci says, "about getting at the truth of the story. Since it's so concentrated, the whole process is more spontaneous. " A director himself with three critically acclaimed pictures to his credit, Tucci praises Burns for maintaining a "clarity of vision. " The process of committing to the picture was as targeted and clean as the making of it. " Eddie sent me the script, told me it was all in New York and would get made really fast," Tucci remembers. " I said yes. "

"Griffin is the darkest, most selfish player in the movie," Tucci says, describing the character he plays, " the one who doesn't seem to mind if he hurts other people. But what I liked about him, what I worked towards in the performance -- is that he doesn't see himself as a bad guy. He's doing what it takes to get along, and he's not ashamed, he doesn't feel evil. He might be a villain, but he lives inside his justifications. He never quite realizes why he ends up so much on the outside. "

Heather Graham describes the way Ed Burns works with his cast: "He doesn't over-direct, particularly on the day the scene is shooting. He lets you feel that your character is really in the situation and he trusts good actors to play off each other. He's always ready to listen to suggestions. "

One of the central questions that runs through the movie is "Who is a real New Yorker?" The flow of life on New York's sidewalks --where you come from, where you are going, how fast you are moving, uptown, downtown, cross-town - the rhythm itself carries a lot of history. When Upper East Side Annie shows Queens-born Tommy a loft space he could move into as a sign of his rise to prosperity, he almost seems to resent the comfort of the place.

" People who come from wealth … are more like tourists," Tommy says in the scene. "They ride on the surface, but they're not the blood and guts of this town. Take the bridge and tunnel crowd… We're a different story. We are the people who made this city what it is… gave our sweat and blood to this city. " Annie who can trace her family back to the original Dutch settlers, is engaged by Tommy's passion. Annie and Tommy are coming together, from very different places in the city. They are changing themselves as they learn more about how rich their choices are.

Burns is realistic about "the course of true love," circa 2001. Bonds between lovers are more tentative than ever before; connections are more complicated. Old-line sentiment only has a chance to survive if seasoned with cutting edge humor. Rigid rules simply do not apply. It's an open, painful question: " Does anyone care about love anymore?"


Definitive, final answers to most all the questions are hard to come by. At the end of the movie, Burns, in his role as Tommy, suggests that this may not be a completely bad thing:

TOMMY
If we had answers, all of us would be in these
great, solid happy relationships. But so few of us
are. We're searching for that thing and we have so
much trouble finding it. But who knows, maybe that's
part of the fun. ..

Author : © 2001 Paramount Classics.