Audience Member
It’s the summer of 1990 Harvey Keitel plays Auggie who runs a tobacco shop in the Big Apple and some individuals’ lives are about to change they just don’t know it William Hurt, Ashley Judd, Forest Whitaker, and Harold Perrineau are connected by a somewhat 'chain of smoking' events part 1 focuses on Paul, an author whom is still recovering from his wife's murder, he almost gets hit by a car but is saved at the last minute by a teen boy named Rashid part 2 with Rashid sheds more light on his background; his mother is deceased and he's been estranged with his father for 12 years but he manages to track him down finding him a broken soul as well as an injury he sustained long ago part 3 shows more of Auggie's life, his ex Stockard Channing as Ruby comes in showing his daughter, Felicity who's in a bit of a rough patch A great collection of talented actors intersecting in ways that are unique but challenging I actually found Rashid’s story the most fascinating because he wants to know his father even if he has to keep it to himself and it actually is very heartbreaking to watch seeing it unfold The sudden realizations are pretty tough to digest and pretty much anybody who’s been through this can attach to it If you can't share your secrets with your friends then what kind of friend are you?, life just wouldn't be worth living, if you're gonna die what's more important: a good book or a good smoke?, to make a good story you have to know how to push all the right buttons, you can't really weigh how much you smoke it's like trying to weigh your soul Evocative, smoothly paced, well-written, drama filled, and keeps you interested to see where these characters go from their unplanned encounters There’s many people out there who smoke cigarettes and cigars as their way of dealing with certain situations they need to work on or to make life easier A film like this says whatever goes on with us something is bound to go up in smoke either as a sign or a reminder what we can still fix
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
06/11/23
Full Review
Matt S
It's a wonderful film. Subtle, rich character development, brilliant acting. Minor Spoiler alert-There's a scene where Harvey Keitel shows William Hurt a scrapbook of pictures he's taken over the years. Every day, same location. William Hurt flips through the book, impressed by his diligence, but says "I don't get it".Keitel guides him to a picture where he, by chance, captured s photo of Hurt's late wife, sho happened to be walking in the spot Keitel always photographs. Hurt looks at it, and says- "Look at my sweet darling", and starts crying. Keitel hugs him. I'm tearing up as I write about it. It's beautiful. It's that kind of film.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/13/23
Full Review
Steve D
The great cast do just enough to make it work.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Great movie, It's like one of the photos Auggie takes each day.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
pete w
I wish I could give this a 20. They don't make movies like this anymore. It has everything you could ever want. Don't miss it.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
William L
"I'm telling ya, there's gonna be another war. I mean, those flops at the Pentagon gonna be out of a job unless they find a new enemy. And they got this 'Saddam' character now ... I mean, they've gotta hit him with all they've got."
Release Date: June 9, 1995
Dialogue-heavy films certainly aren't bad or dull by default; in fact, many of the most emotionally weighty, philosophical, introspective, and beloved films deal with the kind of understated character interactions that Smoke does. However, there is a totally unshakeable literary flavor that just doesn't seem to translate that well here. The closest that I can describe it is if you consider a play that is adapted into a film without major alterations apart from a budget and a camera: the dialogue and narrative structure are there, but it feels like forcing a jigsaw puzzle piece in a place where it doesn't quite fit. A few too many heartstring-tugging subplots to really carry the sensation that the screenplay is built on conveying close-knit, everyday relationships through candid dialogue. Also, Wayne Wang seemed almost unable to decide what gently laughing reaction shot to end this film with, so he just throws four or five in there and ultimately winds up with this strangely awkward note to go out on.
Here I was, thinking I might have turned a corner with William Hurt, that perhaps I had just seen a distinct subset of his films that seemed to focus on emotionally shattered guys that now drone through life in a zombie-like stupor with a monotone voice no matter the circumstances. But that doesn't seem to be true, that seems to be a majority of his films - he's got a very distinctive and consistent delivery that seems to have rendered him consistently typecast. (3/5)
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/13/21
Full Review
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