“The Only Living Boy in New York” Understanding Simon & Garfunkel’s Masterpiece

“The Only Living Boy in New York” Synopsis

Thomas, who left his parents' home on the Upper West Side after The Graduate from college and started living alone on the Lower East Side, meets WF Gerald, a neighbor of his eccentric apartment building, and receives life advice from him. One day, he witnesses a secret meeting between his father and his mistress Johanna at a nightclub with Mimi, a second-hand bookstore employee with whom he has feelings. As he desperately tries to separate Johanna from her father while receiving advice from WF, he falls in love with the mysterious charm of her who "knows everything about you." Two encounters that occur during his boring days force him to confront an unexpected story about himself and his family...

Index

• Directors in their 40s fascinated by the legendary duo
• What is the background behind the birth of Simon & Garfunkel's famous songs?
• What emerges when you incorporate the lyrics into the story of a movie
• Famous songs from the 60s and 70s that add color to movies

Directors in their 40s fascinated by the legendary duo

In 2017, two films named after Simon and Garfunkel were created in the United States. One is `` Baby Driver ,'' and the other is ``The Only Living Boy in New York,'' which has the original title ``The Only Living Boy in New York.'' Both titles are based on famous songs by the legendary duo, and the tunes of those songs reverberate throughout the movie.

" Baby Driver" trailer

Due to this coincidence, Baby Driver director Edgar Wright even joked that the two films are part of the Simon & Garfunkel Cinematic Universe. If Edgar's theory is followed, then Mike Nichols' masterpiece ``The The Graduate '' (67), which is studded with their masterpieces such as ` `The Sound of Silence '' and `` Mrs. Maybe you can say that.

Speaking of which, in ` `(500) Days of Summer '', the directorial debut of Marc Webb, who directed ``Goodbye , The Only Living Boy in New York'', there is a scene where Summer and Tom watch ``The Graduate'' at a movie theater. What appears on the screen is the climax of the movie. It's a very suggestive scene in which Dustin Hoffman, who plays the main character, kidnaps his bride and flashes his biggest smile in the back seat of the bus, and the next moment his face becomes calm and he stares straight ahead. This line brings Summer to tears, and Tom, who sees a new side of her, doesn't know what to say to her. The song `` Bookends Theme '' by Simon & Garfunkel is playing in the background, as if watching over the two of them. See, the universe is connected here too.

Needless to say, their masterpieces have a solid worldview that can be described as very cinematic, and the sound of the title itself is perfect as a movie title. Edgar Wright and Marc Webb were both born in the same year, 1974. Although they were not of the generation that listened to their songs in real time, their songs have come around again and again, just as times and trends come and go, and they have provided great inspiration to the hearts of creators. I guess it was.

So, what does "The Only Living Boy in New York" mean in "The Only Living Boy in New York"? I don't want to go into details because I don't want to get into the heart of the movie, but in this movie, before we hear this song, we suddenly come face-to-face with the title itself in the middle of the story. If you just look at that, the audience will probably see the main character (Callum Turner) as a ``boy alone in New York'' who is struggling with how to carve out a life for himself in New York. However, if you try to read deeply into the production background of the song and the meaning of the lyrics, it is interesting to see that the depth changes slightly.

What is the background behind the birth of Simon & Garfunkel's famous songs?