New York is a lot. It’s loud, it smells like roasted nuts and subway exhaust, and it’s arguably the most filmed square footage on the planet. But back in 2008 and 2009, a massive collaborative experiment tried to bottle that chaos into something specific. I’m talking about New York, I Love You, the anthology film that basically served as the second installment of the "Cities of Love" franchise. You remember the one—the movie with the poster featuring the Empire State Building tucked inside a red heart.
Honestly? It’s a weird movie.
Most people remember it as this star-studded blur of short stories, but if you actually sit down and watch it today, it feels like a time capsule of a city that doesn't quite exist anymore. It wasn't just a movie; it was a transition point for how we tell stories about urban life. Some of it is brilliant. Some of it is, frankly, a little cringe-inducing. But that’s the point. It’s an honest reflection of the city's fragmented personality.
The Anthological Chaos of New York, I Love You
The structure of the film is what usually trips people up. It isn't a single narrative. Instead, it’s eleven short films directed by eleven different directors, including names like Mira Nair, Natalie Portman (in her directorial debut), and Fatih Akin. The original plan even had segments from Anthony Minghella and Scarlett Johansson, though those didn't make the final theatrical cut for various reasons.
It’s uneven. Let’s just say that upfront.
When you have that many cooks in the kitchen, the soup is going to taste a bit different with every spoonful. One minute you’re watching a subtle, wordless interaction between two strangers in a diamond district shop, and the next, you’re thrown into a surrealist comedy about a guy in a wheelchair. This lack of cohesion is exactly why critics at the time, like Roger Ebert, gave it mixed reviews. But looking back, that’s exactly what New York feels like. You walk three blocks and the entire "genre" of your day changes. You go from a high-end corporate lobby to a street corner where someone is yelling at a pigeon.
The film captures that transition. It uses transition sequences directed by Randy Balsmeyer to stitch the stories together, attempting to create a "flow," but the seams still show. That’s the charm. It doesn't pretend that the Upper East Side and Brighton Beach are part of the same emotional landscape. They are different worlds connected only by the MTA.
Why the "Cities of Love" Format Actually Matters
This wasn't just a random collection of shorts. Following the success of Paris, je t'aime, producer Emmanuel Benbihy wanted to create a global brand of cinema. The rules were strict: directors had to film in specific neighborhoods, they had limited budgets, and they had to focus on the theme of "finding love."
But "love" in this movie isn't always romantic.
Take the segment directed by Brett Ratner, starring Anton Yelchin and Olivia Thirlby. It’s about a prom date involving a girl in a wheelchair and a pharmacy. It’s awkward and sweet. Then compare that to the segment with Ethan Hawke and Maggie Q, which is basically just a long, flirtatious conversation on a sidewalk in Soho. It’s cynical but hopeful.
The film avoids the "postcard" version of the city. Usually, movies about New York are obsessed with the Chrysler Building or Central Park in the snow. While those elements appear, New York, I Love You spends a lot of time in the grittier, more mundane corners. It looks at the interactions between a painter and his muse, or an elderly couple (played by the legendary Eli Wallach and Anne Meara) walking toward the ocean. That specific short—the one with Wallach and Meara—is arguably the heart of the whole project. They bicker about how fast they are walking. It’s mundane. It’s perfect.
The Missing Pieces: What You Didn't See
Interestingly, the "full" version of the film's vision was even broader. Scarlett Johansson directed a segment titled "These Vagabond Shoes" starring Kevin Bacon. It was shot in black and white and focused on a man’s journey to find a specific type of clam. The producers cut it because they felt it was too "conceptual" and didn't fit the flow.
This happens in New York all the time.
The best stories are often the ones that get edited out because they don't fit the "mainstream" vibe of what a city story should be. The exclusion of the Johansson and Minghella segments remains a point of contention for cinephiles who want the "pure" version of this experiment.
Realism vs. Romanticism: The Eternal Struggle
Is it realistic? Kinda.
If you’ve ever lived in Brooklyn or Queens, you know that your life isn't a series of witty dialogues with strangers. It’s mostly waiting for the G train and wondering why the deli ran out of everything bagels at 9:00 AM. New York, I Love You leans into the romanticism of the idea of New York. It’s the city as we want it to be—a place where every encounter has the potential to change your life.
There’s a specific scene with Bradley Cooper and Drea de Matteo that hits on this. They are two strangers who had a one-night stand and are trying to decide if they should meet again. It captures that specific New York anxiety: the fear that you’re missing out on "the one" because you’re too busy being "cool" or cynical.
The cinematography across the different shorts varies wildly because of the different DPs involved. Some shots are grainy and handheld, others are glossy and static. This visual inconsistency drives some people crazy. To me, it mirrors the architecture of the city itself—a glass skyscraper sitting right next to a crumbling 19th-century brownstone.
The Lasting Legacy of the Anthology
People don't talk about this movie much anymore, which is a shame. In the era of TikTok and short-form content, you’d think a movie made of ten-minute clips would be more popular. It was ahead of its time in its "snackable" storytelling.
It also served as a launchpad. For Natalie Portman, it was a chance to prove she could hold the camera from the other side. Her segment, featuring a Hasidic man and a bride-to-be, dealt with cultural boundaries and shared humanity in a way that felt very "New York." It wasn't flashy. It was quiet.
The movie also serves as a tribute to actors we've lost. Seeing Eli Wallach on screen, or Anton Yelchin, brings a layer of melancholy to the viewing experience now. They are part of the city’s history, much like the characters they played.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Film
The biggest misconception is that this is a sequel to Paris, je t'aime. While it’s the same "project," the energy is fundamentally different. Paris is about the myth of romance. New York is about the reality of friction.
In Paris, the stories feel like fables.
In New York, the stories feel like eavesdropping.
You’re not watching a polished narrative; you’re watching a series of interruptions. If you go into it expecting a coherent plot, you’ll be disappointed. If you go into it expecting to feel the "vibe" of a specific Tuesday in October in Manhattan, you’ll get exactly what you came for.
How to Experience the "Love" Today
If you want to actually "live" the movie, don't go to Times Square. That’s for tourists and people who enjoy being hassled by guys in off-brand Elmo suits. Instead, do what the directors did:
- Pick a neighborhood and stay there. Don't commute across the city in a day. Spend four hours in a single square mile.
- Observe the "unseen" interactions. Watch the guy selling papers talking to the woman walking her dog. That’s the movie.
- Appreciate the mundane. The best parts of the film happen in laundromats, hotel rooms, and on park benches.
New York isn't a destination; it’s a series of small, overlapping moments. New York, I Love You didn't try to solve the mystery of the city. It just pointed a camera at the mess and said, "Isn't this beautiful?"
Actionable Next Steps for Fans and Travelers
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world of this film or the city that inspired it, start with these specific actions:
- Watch the "Deleted" Shorts: Find the Scarlett Johansson and Anthony Minghella segments online. They provide a much-needed avant-garde balance to the more commercial theatrical release.
- Visit the Diamond District: Walk through 47th Street. It’s one of the most specific, high-tension environments in the city and was the setting for one of the film's best shorts.
- Contrast with the Franchise: Watch Paris, je t'aime and Rio, Eu Te Amo back-to-back with the New York version. You’ll start to see how different directors interpret "urban love" based on the local culture.
- Explore the Cast’s Other NY Work: Many of the actors in the film, like John Hurt or Shia LaBeouf, have done more "traditional" New York films. Compare their performances here to their work in more structured narratives like Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
The city has changed since 2009. The rent is higher, the shops are different, and everyone is on their phones. But the way people look at each other when they’re stuck in the same small space—that hasn't changed at all. That’s the part of the movie that stays true.