In the Heights

Starring: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Olga Merediz, Jimmy Smits, Gregory Diaz IV, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Marc Anthony, Olivia Perez
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Musical
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) dreams of a better life while living day-to-day in the predominantly Dominican Washington Heights, NY.

Review:

Tim: I was pretty interested in seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights. I loved Hamilton, both the play (which I saw when it was traveling) and the movie of the original cast's production. While this film is a booming success, it didn't quite reach the "heights" of that other production. Still, Jon M. Chu's film is a delight and a successfully adapts this play to the screen.

In the Heights is an entertaining musical, one that highlights a different culture and people than we typically see in movies like this. Representation is so important and I appreciated that about this film. I guess I should comment on the big controversy surrounding this film. I recognize that I'm weighing in as a white male, so my view has little weight. The controversy is that the movie is made up almost entirely of lighter-skinned Dominicans, where darker-skinned Afro-Latino actors are relegated to the background if used at all. I think these complaints are valid and worth considering, but it's disappointing that those criticisms seemed to drown out the positives of the film. Should a more diverse set of actors been cast? Probably. But, I do think we need to look at representation as iterative and there's a lot to celebrate here. It's not so many years ago that a movie like this wouldn't have been made. I can see nervous studio executives asking "Where are all the white actors?" I felt very appreciative that this movie got made the way it did. Was it a complete success in casting? No. But, it did feel like people were determined to tear something down that should have been celebrated. Again, I recognize no one cares what I think.

That being said, let me continue to tell you what I think. Being unfamiliar with the stage play, I had fun diving into this community and learning about the characters, their lives, loves, hopes, and dreams. The film sets up these characters and solid actors portray them, so you do identify with and care about them as the film progresses. The characters are depicted as complex and authentic. I appreciated this multidimensional look at so many different characters. The development was strong and the characters emerge as memorable because of this.

I really appreciated Manuel's work on the film. The music and lyrics pull in multiple different perspectives and approaches to create something that feels unique. We don't see very many musicals that take this approach to the songs and all the music felt fresh and lively. That being said, I don't know if I truly loved any of the songs. I very much liked all of them, but it didn't feel like the film had that one showstopping hit. Maybe this is a miss on my part and I'd connect more with the music on subsequent viewings (this is possible, my auditory memory is very weak). Still, the music felt unique and good, but it didn't have instantly memorable, powerful songs like Hamilton.

The cast felt really strong to me. Again, it should have had more diverse representation. That being said, the actors selected all did a very good job. Anthony Ramos may be an unexpected leading man, but he has real star power. He's an incredible singer, a talented actor, and he is able to make connections with the audience. This film is more about him than anyone else and he rises to the occasion. His Usnavi (I loved the origin of his name, by the way) is a memorable, entertaining, fascinating character that we learn to truly care about as the movie progresses. I liked Melissa Barrera's performance as well. I wasn't familiar with Barrera before this film, but I was impressed by her level of talent. She doesn't quite create the same emotional connection that Ramos does with the audience, but I still enjoyed her energetic performance. She worked well with Ramos. I left the movie feeling impressed with her. I loved Corey Hawkins' performance as well. I was familiar with some of the smaller role Hawkins has had and I enjoyed him on ,The Walking Dead, but I had no idea he was this talented. This film gives him the opportunity to showcase his talent and it is considerable. He was excellent in the role and added so much to the film. Leslie Grace was decent. She didn't make as powerful an impression on me as others in the cast, but she was enjoyable. Hawkins and Grace are part of the coolest visual scene in the film, a dance number that takes place on the side of a building. Gregory Diaz IV was solid in his supporting effort as well. He might not have given a "great" performance, but he makes the movie better. Olga Merediz has a few absolutely stunning moments throughout the film. Her performance is one I'll think about for a long, long time. I always love seeing Jimmy Smits and he unsurprisingly gives a strong performance. I'm a big fan of Stephanie Beatriz for her work on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and it was delightful to see her in a very different role here. Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn't have a big role, but he adds a nice supporting performance. He might not make an impact on the overall film, outside of him just being a likeable guy and his presence was welcome. I was surprised by how much I liked Marc Anthony's very small performance. He doesn't get much screen time, but it's memorable.

I want to say again how much I enjoyed In the Heights. It's an entertaining film and Chu expertly directs the film. The first half of the movie, I more than liked it- I was blown away by the characters, the colors, and the music. As the film goes on, I did lose a bit of interest. At nearly 2.5 hours, it feels overly long. Without those big showstopping music numbers, the viewing experience dragged a bit as the movie went on. The plot about the lottery ticket is where I started to get a bit bored. The back half of the movie is filled with surprises. Some of them work, some of them don't. The human drama feels a bit stretched and occasionally forced. At the beginning of the movie, I thought this could be a "great" film. By the end, I was convinced it wasn't. I don't want this to sound overly harsh, because this is easily one of the best movies I saw in the first half of 2021. In the Heights is a memorable piece of creative film-making. However, it doesn't have quite enough to push it to the upper echelon of movie musicals.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Hamilton, A Star is Born (2018), Monsters and Men