"The Cruise" - review

Fascinating journey, underwhelming destination

I distinctly recall when Bennet Miller's "The Cruise" arrived on DVD back in 1998 as it was an extremely popular rental at the time, especially for a low-budget, independent documentary.  Miller's subject is Timothy "Speed" Levitch, who made a living for years as a tour guide in New York.  Right from the start, Timothy is entertainingly enigmatic.  He spits historical anecdotes about the Big Apple like a slam poet, and his high nasal voice, which is off-putting at first, quickly becomes another charming aspect of Timothy's quirky personality.  He is a perfect subject for intimate intrigue.

There are many funny and philosophical moments where Timothy waxes rhapsodic about his relationship with New York, and it's clear that this love affair has undergone many fluctuations over the years, but no personal stories come to light.  At the end, it still remains unclear why Timothy was inspired to immerse himself in all of the myriad details and anecdotes of the city's storied past and how he came to care so deeply about all the unique people who have lived and died there, leaving behind legacies of potential interest to the next busload of assorted tourists.

However, the film is ultimately unsatisfying as a character study because it never digs below the surface of its initially alluring main character.  Timothy was born and grew up in New York, so it easily follows that he would know the city well.  Yet we never learn anything revealing about Timothy.  His knowledge of the places and people of New York is extensive, yet Timothy's own past remains largely unexplored.  What was Timothy's childhood like?  How did his parents raise him?  We're never told.  Unlike the rapid-fire facts in his various tour narrations, Timothy preserves his personal mysteries.  

One brief scene shows Timothy ascending a staircase and opening a door to an apartment where a friend has allowed him to crash.  In another scene in conversation with one of his co-workers, it's suggested that Timothy sometimes only works 20 hours a week, so at the very least, his lifestyle seems fairly hardscrabble, especially given the cost of living in such a major metropolitan area.  The black and white cinematography beautifully echoes this meager existence, but again, hard truths fail to surface.  "The Cruise" is breezy and fun, but overall it's like a beautiful and ornate frame around a nascent painting that is urgently awaiting further brush strokes.