Roseland - James Ivory

Three separate stories of the hopes of the lonely are told, with the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan as the setting. In "The Waltz", recently widowed May, a graceful woman who was married to her husband Eddie for thirty-five years, mourns the loss of dancing with her long time partner. Although she initially thinks him crass, May chooses as her new dance partner Stan if solely for what link Stan seems to be able to provide to her past. Stan tries to steer her away from that past and look to her future. In "The Hustle", a young man named Russel "works" as a full time gigolo for the wealthy Pauline, who is on the far side of middle age. Russel meets the shy Marilyn, Pauline's friend who was recently jilted by her husband, with whom there is a mutual attraction. Cleo, Russel's former dance teacher, wants Russel as her professional dance partner despite him treating dance now merely as a past-time. Both Marilyn and Cleo try to get Russel away from the life he leads with Pauline, which may be difficult to do seeing as to the comfort that lifestyle affords. And in "The Peabody", the elderly Rosa, who sees herself as a dance superstar, dreams of winning the regularly held Peabody dance contest at the ballroom. Her regular partner, Arthur, is not the best dancer, but he sees his relationship with Rosa in a slightly different light. They both hope they achieve their dream before the inevitability of life and death.