Chelsea Walls

Name: Chelsea Walls
Genre: Drama
Released: April 19, 2002
Duration: 109 min
Rating: 34
Cast: Paz de la Huerta, Vincent D'Onofrio

2002

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Ratings

See All

6.3

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.3	Your Score
6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Chelsea Walls

Now Playing: Chelsea Walls

Movie Details & Credits

Lions Gate Films | Release Date: April 19, 2002 | R

Starring: Paz de la Huerta, Vincent D'Onofrio

Summary: The residents of the Chelsea Hotel in New York City, young and full of expectations, mingle with the old hotel ghosts and guests, ultimately becoming interchangeable. They form a community, linked by their dreams. The Chelsea Hotel never really leaves the people who live there, nor do they ever really leave it. (Lions Gate Films)

Director: Ethan Hawke

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 109 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy on

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas

Ethan Hawke, in his feature directorial debut, has brought Nicolette Burdette's play to the screen with fluid grace and a perfect blend of dreaminess and grit, expressed in camerawork that seems to float and in Jeff Tweedy's shimmering, gently insistent score. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

The cast is certainly impressive, and probably reason enough for seeing this. Read full review

Stephen Holden

Yet the movie sustains a mood. It passionately believes in itself and in the value of the messy artistic lives it glosses, and some of that belief rubs off on you. Read full review

Mark Olsen

Pretension, in its own way, is a form of bravery. For this reason and this reason only -- the power of its own steadfast, hoity-toity convictions -- Chelsea Walls deserves a medal. Read full review

Keith Phipps

Works equally poorly as a tourist brochure and as a drama. Read full review

Erin Meister

As for Hawke's direction, if there is any, it certainly isn't apparent. The shots are frequently bland and uneven, and the players act as though their only instruction was ''Just show up at the set and remember your lines.'' At least they seem to have gotten that much right. Read full review

Jami Bernard

The actor's directorial debut is a lugubriously poetic homage to the famed Chelsea Hotel, which is to New York's artistic and beatnik past what Ellis Island is to the story of American immigration. Read full review

SEE ALL 18 REVIEWS

Write a Review

Mixed:

User Reviews

toto

Dec 28, 2005

I´ve just seen it (already started). I really enjoyed it and I guess that´s how it has to be; I ´ll have to accept the fact some people won´t like it... we´re all different after all. However, I´d be surely satisfied by knowing that everyone was caught by I´ve just seen it (already started). I really enjoyed it and I guess that´s how it has to be; I ´ll have to accept the fact some people won´t like it... we´re all different after all. However, I´d be surely satisfied by knowing that everyone was caught by at least some fragment of it. That is, we´re all different in this world, but deep in the heart, we´re all the same. Good bye… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

AdamM

Aug 10, 2007

I thought that the movie was above avg. It did have a unique plot, but some of the senes were kind of lengthy. I have been by this place on my rollerblades going to the chelsea skate park on the pier. Anyways I like the music and the art keep these movies coming. THANKS.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Jun 30, 2006

I don't understand the series of 10's this film earned in the user ratings. If a film like Citizen Kane represents a generally accepted level of supreme fillmmaking, and therefore worthy of a 10, Chelsea Walls is nowhere near that mark. In addition, the notion that anyone giving I don't understand the series of 10's this film earned in the user ratings. If a film like Citizen Kane represents a generally accepted level of supreme fillmmaking, and therefore worthy of a 10, Chelsea Walls is nowhere near that mark. In addition, the notion that anyone giving this film a poor review, is either not very bright or didn't view the film with an open mind, is rather immature. This film was recommended to me by a friend, with whom I share a similar taste in film. So, I went into this expecting to like the Chelsea Walls...but that's not how it turned out. First off, the grainy digital picture and lifeless camerawork make the visuals an absolute chore to take in. The dim interior and exterior lighting doesn't help matters any. As far as the actual performances go, there were a few actors that turned in intermittently compelling performances. However, the amount of time devoted to most of the characters is brief which doesn't allow for much development. Not only were the individual story arcs quite thin, they also failed to interweave in a manner that added anything of value to the plot line. In general, everything about this film seemed very contrived and amateurish. It plays more like a documentary than an ensemble drama. Had this been a documentary chronicling the lives of actual Chelsea residents, I would've been more receptive, and been able to take the characters seriously. Yet, it's a fictional tale of struggling artists pretentiously portrayed by established actors in somber settings. The most pressing question this film raises, is just what the filmmakers were trying to express about the Chelsea and its residents. Apparently, what was once a grand hotel that housed some of histories greatest American artists, is now nothing more than a run-down haven for aimless deadbeats who's personal problems will prevent them from ever making great art. That seemed to be the sentiment of the two cops in the film, and is what makes them, sadly, the only two characters I could really identify with. If I had to describe this film in one word, that word would be "bleak."… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MatthewP

Apr 26, 2009

Ethan Hawke obviously has no idea how to make a movie. From the beginning, I feel like I'm watching actors act, not characters in a story. The film rushes me around to several scenes and nothing from any of them sticks (the bad camerawork makes an impression though). Plus everyone is Ethan Hawke obviously has no idea how to make a movie. From the beginning, I feel like I'm watching actors act, not characters in a story. The film rushes me around to several scenes and nothing from any of them sticks (the bad camerawork makes an impression though). Plus everyone is just spouting pseudo-philosophical jargon. Hasn't Hawke taken Creative Writing 101? SHOW, Don't tell...This film actually made me angry. I couldn't finish it. It's the worst movie I've seen in a while.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SEE ALL 4 REVIEWS