Little Manhattan
| Little Manhattan | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by |
Mark Levin Jennifer Flackett (uncredited) |
| Produced by |
Gavin Polone Arnon Milchan |
| Written by | Mark Levin (uncredited) Jennifer Flackett |
| Starring |
Josh Hutcherson Charlie Ray Bradley Whitford Cynthia Nixon |
| Music by | Chad Fischer |
| Cinematography | Tim Orr |
| Edited by | Alan Edward Bell |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,117,920 |
Little Manhattan is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed and written by husband and wife Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett. Though Levin is credited as the director and Flackett as the writer, in the film's DVD commentary the two reveal that they collaborated on both tasks. Little Manhattan depicts the story of ten-year-old Gabe's realization that girls can be pretty and nice to be with. The story takes place, and was filmed on location, in Manhattan, mostly in the Upper West Side. The film stars Josh Hutcherson and Charlie Ray in the leading roles of the two children. It was Ray's first film role having never previously attended an audition. The character of Rosemary at the kindergarten stage, seen in a flashback, was played by the writer-director team's real-life daughter.
10-year-old Gabe meets an 11-year-old girl in his grade, Rosemary, who he's known since kindergarten. But after being partnered with her for sparring in self-defense class, he suddenly notices her as a girl, not another face. To Gabe's elation, they begin spending time together and he is completely enamored with not only her, but her life. He takes her on a tour through Central Park, and another day they venture for fun across the city and use their self-defense skills to fight a bully named Daryl Kitzens and try to inspect an apartment for rent, worrying his nervous parents. He discovers that Rosemary is soon leaving for camp for six weeks and won't be back until summer's end and her parents are planning to enroll her in a private school. She lives with her loving upper-class parents, and on the edge of Central Park. Rosemary's parents take him and Rosemary to hear a jazz pianist at The Carlyle, where the young twosome finally hold hands. After the show, Rosemary's parents tell them to say goodnight and her parents go to get milk. After the parents leave, Gabe and Rosemary begin talking, and he interrupts her by kissing her. His daily exploits are followed and encouraged by the friendly concierge at his building.
Rosemary's family's life is in contrast to Gabe's; he lives with his soon-to-be-divorcing parents, who have declared an awkward truce while waiting for their divorce to be finalized. As their relationship progresses, Gabe begins to question what is happening to him and why he is falling in love with Rosemary. When things seem to be going perfectly, Gabe's world is suddenly turned upside down when he and Rosemary are assigned new sparring partners. Gabe is instantly jealous of Rosemary's new partner: a taller blonde boy named Tim Staples, who's much better at self-defense than he is. With their remaining time running out, Gabe tries to move closer to Rosemary, but only drives her away. In a desperate move to win Rosemary back, Gabe attempts to show off for Rosemary, but painfully fractures his hand in the process.
...
Wikipedia