'Allswell in New York': 'The Bear' actor stirs the pot in a movie where family quarrels provide the heat
For more than 20 years, the marvelously talented Liza Colón-Zayas has been a consistently excellent presence on stage and screens, with character roles in films such as “United 93” and “The Purge: Election Year,” and TV series such as “In Treatment.” As a member of the brilliant ensemble in the zeitgeist-in-a-bottle hit “The Bear,” Colón-Zayas has achieved a new level of acclaim and recognition, recently winning the Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy — and she shines once again in another ensemble-driven comedy/drama, the effectively humanistic feature film “Allswell in New York.”
Directed by Ben Snyder (who co-wrote the screenplay with Elizabeth Rodriguez, who also stars), “Allswell” is a slice-of-life piece following the lives of three Nuyorican women (two sisters and their sister-in-law) who are all caught up in various levels of drama and conflict.
Ida (Colón-Zayas) has the most stability of the trio, working as a medical professional at a health clinic and enjoying a sometimes bumpy but loving long-term relationship with her partner Ray (Michael Rispoli), though she’s often exhausted physically and emotionally from putting out fires everywhere as the self-appointed savior of the family.
Her sister Daisy (Rodriguez) co-owns a restaurant and is on the verge of adopting a child from a young woman (Mackenzie Lansing from “The Mare of Easttown”) who is unnervingly quiet and awkward as she moves in with Daisy for last weeks of her pregnancy. We’re going to keep an eye on this arrangement. Something doesn’t feel right. (Director Snyder and all three leads are members of New York's fabled Labyrinth Theater Company.)
Sister-in-law Serene (Daphne Rubin-Vega), a vocal coach who had a touch of song-and-dance fame back in the day, has reached the end of her rope with her rebellious adult daughter Connie (Shyrley Rodriguez, “Knives Out”), who has taken work as an online erotic model and disappears from their apartment for days at a time. Further complicating matters: Ida has recently located Serene’s husband (and Ida and Daisy’s brother) Dex (Felix Solis), who has battled addiction for years and is in a bad way.
It’s a volatile mix, and “Allswell in New York” is filled with scenes of emotional explosions — perhaps a few too many, as the plot occasionally veers into soap opera territory. Even the tangential characters, e.g., Ida’s friend and co-worker Clint (J. Cameron Barnett) and Daisy’s head bartender Gabe (the always good Bobby Cannavale, playing a scuzzy tinderbox for the umpteenth time), are sources of strife. Still, thanks in large part to the empathetic and layered performances by the terrific cast, we believe in these characters and we’re hoping all will work out, even though we know that’s probably not going to be the case.
As was the case with the recent and Chicago-centric film “All Happy Families,” there’s too much going on here for all to be resolved in some kind of contrived and hurried happy ending. We meet Ida and Daisy and Serene et al., as they’re going through a lot of, um, stuff, and we say goodbye to them on a note that’s equal parts closure and uncertainty. All's well, at least for now. Tomorrow will bring a whole new set of challenges.