''L.A. Without a Map'' (also known as ''Los Angeles Without a Map'' and ''I Love L.A''.) is a 1998 romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Mika Kaurismäki Mika Juhani Kaurismäki (; born 21 September 1955) is a Finnish film director. Biography Mika Kaurismäki is the elder brother of Aki Kaurismäki, and the father of Maria Kaurismäki, who graduated from Tampere School of Art and Media in 200 ...

, from a screenplay he co-wrote with

Richard Rayner Richard Rayner (born 1955) is a British author who now lives in Los Angeles. Early life He was born on 15 December 1955 in the northern city of Bradford. Rayner attended schools in Yorkshire and Wales before studying philosophy and law at the U ...

, based on Rayner's 1988 semi-autobiographical novel ''Los Angeles Without a Map''. The film stars

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

Vinessa Shaw Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actor, and had her breakout role in Disney's 1993 Halloween comedy-fantasy film '' Hocus Pocus''. Shaw also appeared in ''Ladybu ...

Julie Delpy Julie Delpy (; born 21 December 1969) is a French-American actress, film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, includi ...

and

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as ''Arizona Dream'' (1993), ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), ''Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles include ...

, with

Cameron Bancroft Cameron Timothy Bancroft (born 19 November 1992) is an Australian cricketer contracted to Western Australia in Australian first class cricket, Durham in English first class cricket, and the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. He made his T ...

and

Joe Dallesandro Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro III (born December 31, 1948) is an American actor and Warhol superstar. Having also crossed over into mainstream roles such as mobster Lucky Luciano in the film ''The Cotton Club (film), The Cotton Club'', Dallesandro ...

. It is an international co-production between France, the United Kingdom, Finland and Luxembourg.

Plot

While visiting the Northern English

city of Bradford The City of Bradford () is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a large area which includes the towns and v ...

, Barbara, an aspiring Hollywood actress has a fling with the town undertaker Richard. Barbara returns home and brags about the handsome writer she met while away. Unable to forget about her, Richard promptly leaves Bradford and goes to Hollywood without announcing it to his fiancé. Barbara is shocked and embarrassed to see Richard in Los Angeles. With the help of a man called Moss, Richard finds an apartment and a job while he waits for Barbara to break up with her jealous boyfriend Patterson. Barbara finally calls; she and Richard go to the beach and she tells Richard that, although she likes him, it's safer for her future career if she stays with Patterson. In response, he tells her that he'd have gone to the North Pole for her. Richard takes Barbara to a club, where Moss and his band (

Leningrad Cowboys The Leningrad Cowboys are a Finnish rock band who perform rock and roll covers of other songs. They have exaggerated pompadour hairstyles and wear long, pointy shoes. They often work with the Russian military band the Alexandrov Ensemble. Be ...

) are playing. Richard introduces Moss to Barbara's waitress friend Julie and the two get along famously. Meanwhile, Barbara sees Patterson getting too friendly with the Head Waitress at the restaurant and leaves him. Richard, Barbara, Moss and Julie spend the night on the road, before Moss and Julie leave to spend time together in a hotel. Barbara agrees to marry him and the pair have a wedding in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Barbara arranges a meeting for Richard with Takowsky, a well-known

screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

. Richard hands over his screenplay, ''Uzi Suicide'', and returns home to work on more script ideas. Patterson casts Barbara in his next film on the condition that he have sex with her. She agrees and separates from Richard. Richard visits Barbara's restaurant, where her coworker Julie tells him that Barbara doesn't wish to see him anymore. He overhears that Barbara will be waiting tables at a party later and is advised by the restaurant's owner that if he can't win Barbara back, then he should kill her. Instead, Richard acquires a drug to knock her unconscious in case he cannot convince her to return to his side. Moss accompanies him to the party and finds Barbara. After an argument, Richard whips out the drug, but Barbara hits him in the face knocking him to the ground. Richard spends the night in prison and is released with the help of Takowsky. He returns to Bradford, where his funeral business has been kept afloat by a colleague. Barbara brings back ''Uzi Suicide'', with the news that Takowsky has agreed to take Richard on as a client. She presents Richard with his first pay check and they decide to patch up their relationship, starting afresh in Bradford.

Cast

Production

Locations in the film include Chapel Street in

Little Germany, Bradford Little Germany is an area of particular historical and architectural interest in central Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The architecture is predominantly neoclassical in style with an Italian influence. Many individual buildings are listed, ...

;

Undercliffe Cemetery Undercliffe Cemetery is located between Otley Road and Undercliffe Lane in the Bolton and Undercliffe ward, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The cemetery stands atop a hillside overlooking the city and contains some very impressive Victoria ...

Forster Square Forster Square in central Bradford was redeveloped in the (2006) Broadway development, but gives its name to Bradford Forster Square railway station and a retail park. History Forster Square was laid out in the late-19th century at the bottom ...

and the Midland Hotel in Bradford; The Queen's Hotel pub at 195 Lumb Lane, Bradford; The Rex Cinema in

Elland Elland is a market town in Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is situated south of Halifax, by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Elland was recorded as ''Elant'' in the Domesday Book of 1086. It ha ...

, West Yorkshire;

Dean Clough Dean Clough in Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, is a group of large factory buildings built in the 1840s–60s for Crossley's Carpets, becoming one of the world's largest carpet factories (half a mile long with of floorspace) ...

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...

; the Yamashiro Historic District, EIDC and

Guitar Center Guitar Center is an American Music store, musical instrument retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 294 locations. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California. Guitar Center oversees various sub ...

in Los Angeles; Malibu SpeedZone in

Industry, California City of Industry is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is almost entirely industrial, containing over 3,000 businesses employing 67,000 people, with only 264 residents as of the ...

;

Hollywood Park Casino Hollywood Park Casino is a casino and sports bar in Inglewood, California. Originally part of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, the casino moved to a new building in 2016 after the closure and demolition of the racetrack in 2013. History In 1994, ...

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

; and The Argyle Hotel on

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:LA Without A Map 1998 films 1998 comedy-drama films 1998 romantic comedy films 1998 romantic drama films 1990s British films 1990s English-language films 1990s French films 1990s romantic comedy-drama films British romantic comedy-drama films English-language Finnish films English-language French films Films based on autobiographical novels Films based on British novels Films directed by Mika Kaurismäki Films set in Bradford Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Bradford Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in West Yorkshire Finnish comedy-drama films Finnish romantic comedy films Finnish romantic drama films French romantic comedy-drama films Luxembourgian comedy-drama films Luxembourgian romantic comedy films Luxembourgian romantic drama films