Urbania

R

Released Jan 24, 2000

1h 47m

Drama

List

73%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Welcome to Urbania, where your life can change in a second. An enigmatic and engaging young man named Charlie has experienced a trauma, but he's doing his best to regain control of his life. When he notices a mysterious stranger at a distance, Charlie comes to believe he's found the key to his recovery. As he travels the city in an effort to encounter the stranger again, he meets old intimates and new acquaintances.

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Craig N

There is a purposeful ribald madness lurking in the fabric of Shear's debut feature, which drives forward like a poetic freight train. Formally, the film is disorienting in its framing and fractured in its editing, serving to carefully keep us at a distance from what some may assume to be the truth. But the truth here is one of an inner experience; the unfolding narrative mirrors the shattered and at times disembodied psychological state of our leading man. As embodied by Dan Futterman, who at times charms, at times mulls in a timorous silence and other times thoughtfully trods towards the inevitable climax of his ... Undoing? Revenge? Salvation? The film teases as it unfolds portent by portent, bit by bit, bringing us face to face with his tormented soul. The troubled psyche is difficult to express, but the trenchant Shear puts image and sound to use to capture the darker depths. The story proceeds with a different sort of momentum, unlike a Hollywood classic. Films that move similarly different, are PT Anderson's adaption of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice; Scorcese's After Hours; and the works of Resnais, Bunuel and Lynch come to mind. The mind is being explored, as such, it is the maker of the story. In Urbania, we have a naturalism paired with an other worldliness, and often enough we aren't allowed in on the joke, the story or the truth. I'm sure certain viewers find themselves irritated, piqued or even bored. But such is the case when you're dealing with an alternative approach. As it stands, Urbania is a testament to what can be achieved on a small budget by creative minds and I for one am curious to see what world Shear would create with a Hollywood sized budget. Nearly 20 years later, I guess we'll have to keep waiting. In the meantime, there may be an auteur on the sidelines.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/20/20

Full Review

Audience Member

***Due to the recent RT changes that have basically ruined my past reviews, I am mostly only giving a rating rather than a full review.***

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Started out as a really cool idea...Urban Legends come to life..and then it turns gay...real gay..Literally

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Urbania is a WONDERFUL film. Although 40% of it is bogged down with the stuff of Urban legends, the remaining 60% tells a beautiful, if troubling story or love and loss. Dan FUTTERMAN and Matthew KEESLAR both win and break my heart. If you are a gay man, this is an absolute must see -- however, the beauty of the film is that, while its main characters are gay, it isn't AT ALL about them being gay, so being gay is not at all essential to appreciating and LOVING this film. See this one if you like a little thrill with your urban epic romances. Urbania: A-

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A film that is, at varying time, heartbreaking romantic and tragic, vengeful and dark, and abrasively humorous, there's a lot to admire here!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A rather negative film, not the cheeriest. It has some good scenes, the acting is fine, the direction okay, but just didn't care for the seaminess of it. Gloomy. It almost works great, it is just lacking something. but it did hold my interest.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

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Jon Shear

Director

Dan Futterman

Charlie

Alan Cumming

Brett

Matt Keeslar

Chris

Josh Hamilton

Matt

Lothaire Bluteau

Bill

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Emanuel Levy

Variety

One of the boldest entries in 2000 Sundance Fest, Shear's impressive debut is a darkly intriguing drama that probes the nature of love and lasting effects of loss, beautifully played by Dan Futterman (who later became known as the scripter of Capote)

Rated: 4/5

Sep 1, 2006

Full Review

Globe and Mail

Rated: 2/4

Apr 25, 2003

Full Review

Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 10, 2003

Full Review

Jae-Ha Kim

Jae-Ha Kim

"Heard any good stories lately? I've got a good one. And this one really happened." And so begins "Urbania," a superbly crafted film that will leave moviegoers both unsettled and captivated by the time the closing credits roll.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 28, 2023

Full Review

David Ehrenstein

New Times

Shear never shirks from the horrors of gay city life--but he doesn't ignore the tenderness either.

Oct 3, 2017

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

An impressive feature debut about the nature of love and loss, as felt by a group of characters, some of which gay.

Rated: A-

May 14, 2011

Full Review

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Synopsis

Welcome to Urbania, where your life can change in a second. An enigmatic and engaging young man named Charlie has experienced a trauma, but he's doing his best to regain control of his life. When he notices a mysterious stranger at a distance, Charlie comes to believe he's found the key to his recovery. As he travels the city in an effort to encounter the stranger again, he meets old intimates and new acquaintances.

Director: Jon Shear
Screenwriter: Daniel Reitz, Daniel Reitz, Jon Shear
Distributor: Lionsgate Films, here! Films
Production Co: Commotion Pictures, Daly-Harris Productions
Rating: R (Strong Sexual Content|Some Drug Use|Language|Strong Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 24, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 19, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.0M
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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