By: Ava Rogha
A Rainy Day In New York (2019) tells the story of Gatsby Welles (Timothée Chalamet), who is a college student from Yardley, Pennsylvania. It all starts when he plans a trip to New York with his perfect journalist girlfriend where she lands a reporting opportunity.
Gatsby is the protagonist of the movie. He is extremely old fashioned and has an obsession for gambling, which gets him in trouble during their trip.
They come across as the perfect college couple at first, but as you keep watching, you’ll realize that their relationship isn’t all peaches and cream.
"I need a carbon monoxide to survive. We are two different creatures, right? You like the sound of crickets and I like the rattle of the taxies. You blossom in the sun and me, I come into my own under gray skies."
The girlfriend, Ashleigh (Elle Fanning) is super stoked for her reporting opportunity and cannot wait to meet the crew. Gatsby on the other hand, wants to make a romantic trip out of this opportunity by treating his girlfriend to a fancy dinner and cozy trips to the museum. Unfortunately, Ashleigh is too focused on her reporting opportunity and completely misses out on all the plans Gatsby has made for the two.
Ashleigh gives off the vibe that her duty in the big city is far more important than her relationship with Gatsby. Her career clearly comes first, which we respect her for. But, stringing Gatsby along is what makes her character selfish and somewhat annoying.
Wondering the streets of New York on his own, Gatsby finds himself running into his childhood friend, Shannon “Chan” (Selena Gomez), when he is asked to randomly shoot a short romantic scene with her. When the two are told to kiss, it is evident that Gatsby is holding back because of his feelings for Ashleigh.
"Real life is fine for people who can't do any better."
He rambles on about his love for Ashleigh to avoid feeling guilty in between the “kissing” scene. But after a couple of takes, Chan realizes that the chemistry between her and Gatsby is undeniably strong.
As the two spend more time together on this rainy day doing exciting activities like visiting the New York Met museum, Ashleigh runs into famous actor Francisco Vega who invites her to have dinner with him. Even though Ashleigh takes advantage of the dinner by interviewing the actor, it seems like he’s got ulterior motives. It also looks like Ashleigh is slowly enjoying the attention the famous actor gives her.
Although Gatsby makes it clear to Shan how much he loves his girlfriend, Ashleigh rather almost mocks her romantic relationship with Gatsby while having dinner with Vega. It simply looks like Ashleigh is moving on.
"Oh my God, you're Francisco Vega."
Gatsby is still deeply in love with Ashleigh – or so he thinks. When he sees his girlfriend on the news with Vega, his gambling habits are finally presented to the audience. As expected, he wins a large amount of money, which he spends wrongfully.
It appears that the couple are stuck in a toxic relationship and are better off alone. Towards the end of the movie, the two lovers learn to accept that they’re drifting apart. It only took one day apart for both of them to meet new people. Gatsby also realizes that his feelings for Ashleigh seemed rather pretentious and that is evident when we see how comfortable he is around Shan.
"It's fun killing time with you."
The movie gives off a 50s vibe. The way the story is told, the way the characters dress and the music that is used during the movie is very different from the current modern decade.
Elle Fanning and Timothée Chalamet are a great TV couple. It was rather the star cast of the movie that drew me to watch it in the first place. Even though the movie gives out a strong message of “letting go”, I would love to see more of Gatsby’s future love-life with Chan, and Ashleigh’s life as an independent reporter!
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