Synopsis
When a young man learns that his overbearing father is having an affair, he tries to stop it, only to be seduced by the older woman as well.
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Cast
- Callum TurnerThomas Webb
- Jeff BridgesW.F. Gerald
- Kate BeckinsaleJohanna
- Pierce BrosnanEthan Webb
- Cynthia NixonJudith Webb
- Kiersey ClemonsMimi Pastori
- Tate DonovanGeorge
- Wallace ShawnDavid
- Anh DuongBarbara
- Debi MazarAnna
Recommendations
- 70
Variety
If it’s less punchy and original than “(500) Days of Summer,” it’s still a wry tale that deserves to be seen. Gerald keeps telling Thomas that life should be a mess, but in The Only Living Boy in New York it’s a pleasingly witty and well-observed one. - 50
Slant Magazine
As the film spirals outward from its central relationship to delve into other characters’ hidden pasts, the story becomes too unwieldy and fragmented for the audience to develop a comprehensive understanding of Callum Turner's Thomas or his personal evolution. - 50
Village Voice
The boy is but a shell; it’s the men and women around him who truly come to life in this chaotic, awkward, and sporadically moving film. - 40
Screen Daily
The whole endeavour ends up feeling fussy and clever rather than incisive and nuanced — especially when a late twist seriously jeopardises plausibility. - 38
Rolling Stone
Even the best actors – and this coming-of-age movie boasts a handful of them – can't fight this much tin-eared dialogue. - 37
Washington Post
How ironic then, in a movie about wordsmithing, that The Only Living Boy in New York is tripped up not by tawdry behavior, but by terrible writing. - 33
IndieWire
Song reference or not, the title alone should be a major red flag, but there’s no way to fully prepare yourself for the navel-gazing narcissism to come during the film itself. - 25
The A.V. Club
Marc Webb’s new movie, in contrast, uses the song for its title, the name of an in-movie manuscript, and as a late-breaking song cue that doesn’t drop the needle so much as clunk it down with turgid inevitability.
