Movie Name/Year: In the Heights (2021)
Genre: Drama, Musical
Length: 143 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Production/Distribution: Warner Bros., 5000 Broadway
Productions, Likely Story, Scott Sanders Productions, NOS Audiovisuais, Warner
Bros. Pictures Germany, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Singapore, Flixzilla, HBO
Max
Director: Jon M. Chu
Writer: Quiara Alegría Hudes, Lin-Manuel Miranda
Actors: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Corey
Hawkins, Olga Merediz, Jimmy Smits, Gregory Diaz IV, Daphne Rubin-Vega,
Stephanie Beatriz, Noah Catala, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mateo Gómez, Marc Anthony, Analia
Gomez
Blurb from IMDb: A film version of the
Broadway musical in which Usnavi, a sympathetic New York bodega owner, saves
every penny every day as he imagines and sings about a better life.
Selina’s Point of View:
I have a ton to
say and I honestly have no idea where to start. I have opinions about the
content, the politics, the creative aspect, the translation to reality… I was
incredibly affected by
In the Heights.
I guess I’ll start
with where I made a mistake.
I initially
thought the film involved Brooklyn Heights – but it’s actually Washington
Heights, which is in Manhattan. Even with that difference, though, there were
so many similarities to the areas I belonged to in Brooklyn.
There’s a soul to
neighborhoods like the one in
In the Heights. Sometimes it’s not visible
to outsiders, but it’s there. No bodega is just a corner store. Every one of
them is different – as if it were its own individual. You could live closest to
the one on Utica Avenue, but walk a little further because 18th has the best
coffee. There’s always a neighborhood mom, or grandma, that looks after all the
kids on the block. Hell, my ‘grandma’ even dressed identically to the abuela in
this film.
During
In the
Heights there’s a moment where everything stands still and one of the characters
seeks to just listen to her block. When I closed my eyes, it sounded so real.
I have never seen
any movie capture the feel of the neighborhoods in NYC better than this one
did.
If you’ve been reading
the blog for a while, you’ll know how much I dislike the hipsters taking over
NY neighborhoods. I’ve gone into how I feel they are just bleaching away the
character of those places. If you want to truly understand what I’ve been
saying – this is what you need to watch.
The characters of
In the Heights spend a lot of their time talking about how they’re
losing their block. How the people who built the soul of their area are being
priced out. That’s ridiculously accurate. Visiting home now feels like I’m
walking into a new place, one that’s been sapped of so much of what made it
special. The mom-and-pop shops. The small restaurants. And, of course, the
bodegas – even though most of them come equipped with my worst allergy (cats).
By the time the
flick ended, I was so homesick. I’ve been homesick for a while, but I could
never figure out why – and this piece of cinema explained it to me. The little town
I moved to has no soul. I moved here so my daughter could live a safer life,
but I will always wonder if I robbed her of the variety of cultures she could
have absorbed in Brooklyn.
We see ourselves
in the best works of art. This is just the most personal place that
In the
Heights hit me.
As deep as that
meaning went, there were more general aspects that would affect many others. It
went into DACA and dreamers. It gave a front row seat to what it’s like to be
an immigrant, or even just darker than white, in America.
There are going
to be people who don’t appreciate that message. Those are the people I think
need to pay the most attention.
When I placed
In
the Heights in the #1 spot of my Top 20 movies to look out for in June, I
mentioned my concern that people would undoubtedly compare it to
Hamilton
(2020). Following up a film like that is no joke.
I worried that
even if this one was an amazing film, it still might not live up to
Hamilton
– which could cause a lot of people to look down on it.
I don’t think
that’s an issue anymore.
In
the Heights was
insanely good. It was a two-and-a-half-hour movie that I wound up hyper-focusing
on so much that I forgot to take a drink during it. My coffee went completely
ignored until the credits.
I do believe that
Hamilton’s soundtrack is better, but that doesn’t mean the music in this
film was bad.
In the Heights was almost the same quality, just more
relatable.
Lin-Manuel
Miranda (
Mary Poppins Returns, His Dark Materials, DuckTales), Quiara
Alegría Hudes (
Vivo, My America), and Jon M. Chu (
Crazy Rich Asians,
Somewhere, Now You See Me 2) are geniuses. There’s nothing else to say
about them. Anthony Ramos (
Honest Thief, Trolls World Tour, Elena of Avalor)
was every bit as amazing as I knew he would be, but he didn’t overshadow
anyone. The actors who worked along-side him – regardless of age or gender –
were all just as good.
If you have the
chance to see
In the Heights, I cannot recommend it enough.
Cat’s Point of View:
I am absolutely
loving the recent resurgence of musicals in pop culture. We’ve seen a number of
them adapted from movies to live-action TV specials in recent years. There have
even been several new musical movies. Though, perhaps the most impactful by far
was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s
Hamilton.
In the Heights was Miranda’s
Broadway production that came about a decade before the American Revolutionary
War mega-hit.
Broadway to film
adaptations will always hold a special place in my heart. My inner music-geek
does a happy dance every time a new one comes out – except for
Cats
(2019). I tried watching that and I couldn’t get past the strangeness of the
CGI. It was so weird. I digress.
I don’t know that
I’ll ever be able to afford to go to a real Broadway production in person. I’ve
seen a few musicals in off-Broadway settings. They were magical experiences
that I will never forget.
Hamilton was filmed so that it felt like a
trip to the theater.
In the Heights, however, was a bit different.
In
the Heights
is a bit of a hybrid between the Broadway musical and a traditional movie.
There were a few straight dialogue moments, and most of everything else was
delivered in song and dance. The difference here was that the setting takes
place on the actual streets of New York rather than a stage, and I loved it. It
was wonderful to see that the neighborhood became almost a character of its own
in the narrative.
Aside from the
amazing music and killer dance moves, the story was touching and full of
vivacious Latina flavor. I laughed and cried and sang along. I wanted to dance
(but knew better than to attempt it). I could relate to the characters, even
though I don’t share their ethnicity. I felt an empathetic appreciation for
what they were going through. The cast absolutely killed it. Their wins and
heartbreaks were mine for almost two-and-a-half-hours. It went by in a flash.
Though, the ending left me fulfilled, and while wanting more; still well
satisfied with the experience.
Catch this at
your local theater if you safely can do so.
In the Heights is a
must-see, and I would recommend it a thousand times over.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 97%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 94%
Metascore – 85/100
Metacritic User Score – 7.9/10
IMDB Score – 7.7/10
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5
P.S. After credits scene.
Movie Trailer: