TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

shaunwebb66 This film tells a great tale about a man who has an insatiable sexual appetite that can never be quenched, even in the throes of big trouble with the law. Ultimately, power, money and standing all go a long ways into how people are handled within our court system.If you have riches, you can escape the most inescapable criminal acts. If you're poor, forget it. Our system is badly broken and filled with corruption.Lady Justice is blind on both sides...innocent and guilty alike. The courts have a hard time getting it right...money just adds to the problem.Gerard Depardieu had a lot of guts taking on this roll and did a fantastic job of expressing his emotion through his eyes. He occasionally stares into the camera, giving the viewer a deeper view into his manic behavior.A special nod to Jacqueline Bisset for her terrific role as the enabling wife. She seemed more like a mother than a wife to Depardieu, protecting him to protect herself.A very highly recommended film.Oh, by the way....the most telling of the "Guilty before innocent" sentiment in the USA was the treatment of the perp based alone on an accusation. "You don't like the cuffs? Too bad asshole." Is a sad commentary on the attitudes of our law enforcement officials.

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a powerful French man in the field of economics, who is addicted to sex. He runs into trouble when he is accused of raping a hotel maid in New York.I think the problem about "Welcome to New York" is that everyone knows the whole plot already before watching the film, so it is a challenge to keep viewers interested and surprised. Having extended sex scenes one after another may superficially do the trick, but ultimately I find "Welcome to New York" lacking in real substance. The wife, Simone, is likable and gives convincing displays of emotions. I am sympathetic towards her character. The main character, Devereaux, on the other hand, lacks that certain spark. I guess it is because his character is so egocentric and pathological that he does not show much emotions. He only sweet talk to ladies, yet he is not shown to be able to do much else. The filmmakers could have made it interesting by throwing in more courtroom drama, or more public outcry. There are loads of missed opportunities with the film to deliver a gripping and sensational story.

dragokin Anyone acquainted with the Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandal that rocked international media would find Welcome to New York interesting. The movie gave us some time in private with the main protagonist, although it's clearly been a work of fiction, as the introductory notes underlined.In this movie the aesthetics of Abel Ferrara were put to gut use. As it usually has been the case with his movies, it was difficult to say whether the look and feel of a TV docudrama was intentional or the budget didn't allow a better postproduction. Either way, it sat well with Welcome to New York. It was a gritty insight into the daily routine of an important man who, after a hard day's work, relaxed in some debauchery.From there we go to a cordial welcome at NYPD until the big international capital intervened and charges were dropped. The last section of the movie, although the least exciting, gave the main protagonist the opportunity to spend some time under house arrest and open his heart. And it wasn't the possibility that both himself and Dominique Strauss-Kahn could have become "the future president of France" that made my stomach turn. It was rather his/theirs inability to perceive any wrongdoing and the unwillingness to repent.

Joe H. What is this piece of work? An auteur film? A low-budged shock movie like "La Grande Bouffe" or "Baise-moi"? A porno? Whatever the case, this catastrophic film makes you wonder whether Abel Ferrara has really been directing movies for 40 years. Inconsistent characters, uneven editing and dialogue lines that are laughable at best and disturbingly weak at worst make this this movie a really painful experience, like a great romantic Austrian orchestral piece performed out of tune all the way through. The exhaustingly long and slow vampire of a film that is Welcome to New York begs the questions: has the production been rushed for some troubled reason(s)? is that why it backfires on all technical levels? did they use rehearsal footage? is that why the acting is so all over the place? There are, however, a few interesting moments here and there in the film: Depardieu's monologue towards the end of the film, the lighting reflected on Jacqueline Bisset during a quarrel in the couple's home cinema. They're only details, unfortunately, and they're not powerful enough to save the film from drowning. Abel Ferrara proves that being a "unique" artist doesn't make you a "competent" one and, most of all, that you can't always blame gaucherie on art.