Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
Encyclopedia
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench is a 2009 American jazz
musical film
directed 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.
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.
to perform with his quintet.
musical". 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.
Harvey Karten of CompuServe gave the film a C-, calling it "underproduced" and the cinematography "ragged and grainy".
announced that it will release the film in select theaters across North America
beginning on November 5 in New York City
, with expansion across the US and Canada to follow starting in December. The film was released on DVD by Cinema Guild on May 3, 2011.
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), 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 ).
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
directed by Damien Chazelle, that recasts the MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
musical tradition in a gritty, vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
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, 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.
Production
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench differs from many independent films in that was shot on black and white 16mm film stock, as opposed to digital video. Originally planned as director Chazelle's thesis film for Harvard Film School, he briefly left Harvard to focus on finishing the film.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 trumpter who was named one of the Top 25 Trumpeters of the Future by Downbeat Magazine in 2007, and was the first trumpet player to be hired by acclaimed guitarist Kurt RosenwinkelKurt Rosenwinkel
Kurt Rosenwinkel is an American jazz guitarist and keyboardist who came to prominence in the 1990s.-Biography:He attended the Berklee School of Music for two and a half years before leaving in his junior year to tour with Gary Burton, the dean of the school at the time...
to perform with his quintet.
Music
The film features all original music, composed by Justin Hurwitz with lyrics by Damien 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". The Boston Globe called it "the most buzzed-about movie at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival". 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". Several reviewers called the film a "mumblecoreMumblecore
Mumblecore is an American independent film movement that arose at the turn of the 21st century. Filmmakers associated with the movement include Andrew Bujalski, Lynn Shelton, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Aaron Katz, Joe Swanberg, and Barry Jenkins....
musical". 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.
Harvey Karten of CompuServe gave the film a C-, calling it "underproduced" and the cinematography "ragged and grainy".
Release
After a lengthy festival run, Variance FilmsVariance Films
Variance Films is a privately held film distribution company founded in 2008 that uses an innovative model of self-distribution combined with select elements of traditional theatrical distribution to allow filmmakers to achieve quality theatrical releases for their films...
announced that it will release the film in select theaters across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
beginning on November 5 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with expansion across the US and Canada to follow starting in December. The film was released on DVD by Cinema Guild on May 3, 2011.
Festivals and Awards
The film premiered at the Tribeca Film FestivalTribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the 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), 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 ).