noralee "Chelsea Walls" is a sensual meditation on the lost and troubled souls who drift in and out and settle down at the historic Chelsea Hotel.Ethan Hawke here stays behind the camera as director and gathers his friends Robert Sean Leonard and Steve Zahn, wife Uma Thurman, veterans Kris Kristofferson, Tuesday Weld and Harris Yulin and luminous relative newcomers Rosario Dawson and Mark Webber for moving monologues and dialogs written by playwright Nicole Burdette, as well as mesmerizing poetry renderings of Rimbaud and Dylan Thomas.Hawke has an unusual eye that loves and respects women that's more romantic and empowering than nude humpings in most films today, even as here all we see are fleeting moments in confusing relationships with their irresponsible men, even though I really had no idea what was going on. The music, mostly by Jeff Tweedy and Wilco (with a striking cameo by Jimmy Scott, both acting and singing Lennon's "Jealous Guy") was used as lovely commentary and yearning revealed.Filmed in digital video, the bleeding over the screen and the blurriness could have been due to lousy projection. (originally written 5/4/2002)

David McQueen I thought this film was extremely well crafted, with some outstanding performances - never overplayed or played for sensationalistic effect. Kris Kristoferson was a revelation - a very fine actor here, but everyone contributed to the realism and complexity of the stories. Loved the use of music coming through the walls - a good movie to watch late at night with no distractions and a glass of whisky.If you're looking for a fast moving, action film you've come to the wrong place, but if you like convincing dialogue, good acting and an authentic sense of place you might enjoy this one. Ethan Hawke is clearly a talented director.

acearms This story didn't have a story. Bouncing around the lives of several couples living in a run down seedy hotel had no real plot. All the characters seemed to sit around, dance down the halls, strum guitars or otherwise providing inane performances. Frank Whaley, as an example, played the part of a want-a-be stand up comic, a second attempt for him for which he again failed miserably. Ethan Hawke should keep his day job as an actor, something he does extremely well and quit trying to be a director. The rest of the actors were equally inane in their performances. The camera angles were faulty, the multiple colors from one scene to another added nothing all the while the various characters moped around whining about their sad lot in life. A movie you will be glad you missed. I gave it a 1/10 only because they don't allow zeros. Waste of time.

wildstrawbe There are many lines like the one above in this film. Ethan Hawke in his first work as a director has tried to capture the feeling of these modern beatniks who reside in the Chelsea Hotel in NYC and have chosen for themselves a way of life that is different than the kind of life our society would consider successful. These people aren't even artists, they're just artist wannabes. A little boy says it very clearly "It's hard to say who really is a poet these days". What makes them interesting and what they have in common is that they can't stand the modern world, their perspective on life and the belief that happiness is in simple things. There are several moments in this film that make that so clear. One of them is when Val tells Audrey (played brilliantly by Rosario Dawson) "We only have 43 dollars" and her answer is "We're just living Val. Lots of people do that.". While I was watching this film I was thinking of something I had heard in Charlie Kauffman's 'Adaptation'. "In real life nothing really happens" and I think that's exactly what Ethan Hawke's purpose is, to show us the life of some not so ordinary people who however have feelings and ordinary problems. Ethan Hawke has a wonderful script in his hands, but he fails to deliver and that's the most diappointing thing about this film. But other than that this film has so many beautiful poetic moments that it's worth watching. I understand though that if you never dreamed of this kind of life, if everything that you think matters is to make money in order to afford the comforts of modern life then this film will never appeal to you.