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Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

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Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
Official poster
Directed byDamien Chazelle
Written byDamien Chazelle
Produced byDamien Chazelle
Jasmine McGlade
StarringJason Palmer
Desiree Garcia
Sandha Khin
CinematographyDamien Chazelle
Edited byWilliam Adam W. Parker
Damien Chazelle
Music byJustin Hurwitz
Distributed byVariance Films
Release dates
  • April 23, 2009 (2009-04-23) (Tribeca)
  • November 5, 2010 (2010-11-05) (United States)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
French
Box office$35,556

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench is a 2009 American jazz musical film directed, written, produced, shot, and co-edited by Damien Chazelle, that recasts the MGM musical tradition in a gritty, vérité style. The film features a unique mixture of live jazz performances and choreographed tap dancing, as well as several more traditional musical numbers.

Plot

Set in modern day Boston, Massachusetts, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench tells the story of Guy and Madeline, a couple have been dating for three months. He’s an up-and-coming Boston jazz trumpeter, she an aimless introvert looking for work. The excitement of first love has faded, and Guy’s wandering eye is caught by Elena, a more outgoing woman. When Elena and Guy meet on a crowded subway car, sparks fly—and that spells the end of Guy and Madeline’s romance.

With Guy unexpectedly off in his new relationship, Madeline tries to rebuild her life. She changes apartments, searches for a new job, takes up an instrument, and goes on dates. Nothing clicks—until she travels to New York on a whim and meets a Frenchman named Paul, who she feels an instant connection to. Meanwhile, Guy begins to wonder if he has made a mistake. Elena shows no interest in his music, and time and again the memories of Madeline come calling.

By the time Guy resolves to win her back, Madeline has seemingly moved on. He knocks on her door, but she’s nowhere to be found, as she's preparing to move to New York City. He finally runs into her on a forgotten corner, where the two former lovers are faced with the question of whether they should let the past go, or rekindle their lost romance.

Cast

The film features a cast of non-professional actors, though several are accomplished in other fields. Jason Palmer, who plays Guy, is a noted jazz trumpeter who was named one of the Top 25 Trumpeters of the Future by Downbeat Magazine in 2007,[1] and was the first trumpet player to be hired by acclaimed guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel to perform with his quintet.

Production

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench was shot on black and white 16mm film stock. Originally planned as director Chazelle's thesis film for Harvard Film School, he briefly left Harvard to focus on finishing the film.

Music

The film features all original music, composed by Justin Hurwitz with lyrics by Chazelle. The orchestral score was performed by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, while the jazz numbers contained in the film were performed by the cast, often live.

Reception

The film premiered to a strong critical reception during its festival run. The Village Voice called the film "the kind of movie a young Cassavetes might have made were he working for MGM's Freed Unit".[2] The Boston Globe called it "the most buzzed-about movie at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival".[3] Time Out New York called it "blissful, brilliant", and noted "one sequence involving a tap dancer, a jam session, and a house party is arguably the most joyous five minutes you're likely to experience in a theater".[4] Several reviewers called the film a "mumblecore musical".[5][6][7] Amy Taubin of Film Comment, John Anderson of Variety, David Fear of Time Out New York, and Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News named it the best undistributed film of the year in 2009, and indieWIRE named it the #3 Best Undistributed Film of 2009 in its year-end critics' poll.[8]

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes currently scores the film with a 90%[9] and Metacritic an 84 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".[10]

Release

After a lengthy festival run, Variance Films released the film in New York City on November 5, 2010,[11] with expansion to select theaters across the US and Canada in the months following. The film was released on DVD by Cinema Guild on May 3, 2011.

Festivals and Awards

The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009, and went on to play festivals across the globe, including the AFI Los Angeles, Thessalonki International Film Festival, Mar del Plata International Film Festival, Torino Film Festival (where it won the Special Jury Prize[12]), Mill Valley Film Festival, Starz Denver Film Festival, Viennale, Sarajevo Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival (where it was a nominee for the Mavericks Award), International Film Festival Prague, and the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival (where it won the award for Best Fiction Feature).[13]

References

  1. ^ "Jason Palmer at All About Jazz". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  2. ^ "Stuff We Like". Village Voice (April 22–28). Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  3. ^ "Harvard graduate's film debut is the talk of Tribeca Film Festival - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. April 26, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  4. ^ "Today's Tribeca Pick: Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench". Time Out New York. April 23, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "Short takes: 'Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench,' 'Jews and Baseball,' 'Outside the Law'". Nydailynews.com. November 5, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  6. ^ Schager, Nick (October 31, 2010). "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench | Film Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  7. ^ J. Hoberman (December 23, 2010). "J. Hoberman's Top 10 Movies of 2010 - Page 1 - Movies - St. Louis". Riverfront Times. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  8. ^ "Best Undistributed Film - Annual Critics Survey 2009". indieWIRE. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  9. ^ Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved November 16, 2014
  10. ^ Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench at Metacritic Retrieved November 16, 2014
  11. ^ "Fest Fave 'Guy and Madeline' Lands at Variance". indieWIRE. March 11, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  12. ^ "Film Festival in Torino 2009". Allvoices.com. December 11, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  13. ^ [1]
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