‘Park Avenue’ – Fiona Shaw’s performance is one of immense tenderness (Review)

Directed by Gaby Dellal; this new drama is the rich complex tale of familial relationships particularly between the mother, Kit (Fiona Shaw) and daughter, Charlotte (Katherine Waterston) who has left her controlling husband in Canada to visit her mother for a brief period.

Arriving unannounced and leaving her homestead, Charlotte’s arrival prompts Kit to say, ‘Am I dying?’ This quirky and irreverent mother is one of a host of characters amongst the eclectic residents of 960 Park Avenue. The two women share a fraught bond not just between them but also with doorman Anders for whom they both hold a candle for.

Featuring a standout performance by Shaw as the matriarch of a single parent household, the film is bold in the telling of love and loss amongst family members as well as the importance of a home upon the family dynamics. Kit will never leave the apartment building due its prominence in the city of New York, while Charlotte returns to Park Avenue as a sort of sanctum amidst the mayhem – she leaves the wilderness of her Canadian ranch for the manic energy of the metropolis. Some people are just built for different spaces. This association and connection with belongings is an important part of living, a sense of finding home amidst this wide world.

A rooftop scene with Fiona Shaw in a motherly embrace with Katherine Waterson's character. — Fiona Shaw and Katherine Waterston in Park Avenue. Rimskey Productions

Shaw’s performance is one of immense tenderness as her character slowly befalls some failings of her mental and physical faculties – with Waterston being that solid straight man to her showy performance.

Part chamber piece as we see the pair enclosed in their apartments which could be construed as part-prisons, Park Avenue is a love letter to a distinct part of New York literary sub-culture where people feel that the city is as much a part of their own fabric and identity as their own personality.

‘It’s a part of us. It has meaning.’ ‘Until it doesn’t’ says Kit when referring to a piano she is wanting to sell and remove from the premises as she slowly fades from life. Kit could be talking about any facet.

Subtle, tender and full of longing for a simpler time, Park Avenue is a platform for Shaw so rarely second fiddle to younger stars is given the chance to shine. You fear though that this film will be lost in the plethora of options at people’s disposals nowadays.

Park Avenue is released on Friday 14th November in selected cinemas. Watch the trailer for Park Avenue here.