In the Heights (2021) Warner Bros./Musical RT: 143 minutes Rated PG-13 (some language and suggestive references) Director: Jon M. Chu Screenplay: Quiara Alegria Hudes Music: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman Cinematography: Alice Brooks Release date: June 11, 2021 (US) Cast: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Olga Merediz, Jimmy Smits, Gregory Diaz IV, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, Noah Catala, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mateo Gomez, Marc Anthony, Patrick Page, Olivia Perez, Analia Gomez, Dean Vazquez, Mason Vazquez, Delia Ramos, Valentina, Chris Jackson, Susan Pourfar. Box Office: $30M (US)/$45.2M (World)
Rating: ****
Here it is, the first truly great cinematic experience of 2021! The musical In the Heights, an adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning stage show, is a joyous celebration of Latinx culture in a magical place called Washington Heights. Well, it’s magical to the good people who live there. It’s a place of music and dreams. Every sound on the street is music to the ears. Everybody has a dream. A quote from Turbo comes to mind: “No dream is too big, and no dreamer too small.” There’s certainly nothing small about In the Heights. It’s big on emotion and huge of heart. It’s so big it threatens to spill off the screen at times.
The loosely plotted story, told to a group of children, mainly takes place over the three days prior to a blackout that leaves the residents of New York’s Washington Heights without power, but not powerless. The storyteller is Usnavi de la Vega (Ramos, A Star Is Born), a bodega owner who dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic to reopen his late father’s bar. He’s in love with Vanessa (Barrera, Vida), a salon worker who wants to be a fashion designer. Nina (singer Grace), daughter of taxi company owner Kevin (Smits, NYPD Blue), is something of a local hero. She made it out of Washington Heights all the way to the West Coast to attend Stanford. An intelligent girl with a lot of potential, she returns home with no intention of returning. She claims it’s for financial reasons, but obviously there’s more to it. She resumes her romance with Benny (Hawkins, Straight Outta Compton), a dispatcher for her dad’s company. Due to increased rent, salon owner Daniela (Vega, Wild Things) has to move her business out of the neighborhood to the Bronx.
Other characters include neighborhood matriarch Abuela (Merediz, Evita), Usnavi’s teen cousin Sonny (Diaz, Vampires vs. the Bronx), graffiti artist “Graffiti Pete” (Catala) and gossipy salon girls Carla (Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Cuca (Polanco, Orange Is the New Black).
I’m about to make a confession that many will find shocking. I didn’t care for Hamilton. I’ll wait a moment to let it sink in. [Dramatic Pause] It’s true. I tried watching the filmed version of the Broadway show last summer on Disney+ and could not get into it. I turned it off after 30 minutes or so. I don’t know, maybe it’d be different if I saw it live. In any event, I didn’t know what to expect from In the Heights. I love musicals, but given my experience with Hamilton, I didn’t want to get my hopes up only to be let down again. My worries were laid to rest about five minutes in (if that). It’s fantastic!
If you like singing and dancing, In the Heights won’t disappoint. Director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) does it old school with characters breaking into song and dance to express their feelings whether it’s joy, love or sorrow. It all starts with Usnavi introducing the people in his neighborhood (“In the Heights”) as he greets a brand new day from his corner of the world- his bodega. It’s a sign of the great numbers to come. Two show-stoppers immediately come to mind. The first “96,000” comes on the heels of the revelation that a winning lottery ticket worth $96,000 was sold at Usnavi’s store. Everybody in Washington Heights plays the lottery in hopes of winning big money. When the news of the potential windfall gets around the local swimming pool, everybody fantasizes about what they’d do with the money. In a style resembling Busby Berkeley, hundreds of extras come together in a perfectly choreographed orgy of dancing, splashing and synchronized swimming. The other “Carnaval del Barrio” is initiated by Daniela trying to snap everybody out of their funk during a heat wave made worse by the blackout. WOW! It positively brims with joy and energy. That’s one thing that’s never in short supply here. In the Heights has enough energy for ten movies!
There’s a touch of melancholy found in the notion of a neighborhood falling victim to gentrification, a blight that destroys close-knit communities brought together by their cultural commonalities. Businesses are being bought or forced out to bring in chain stores that will attract white upper-class millennials. This is what’s happening to Washington Heights. In the Heights also touches on undocumented illegals and the challenges they face in getting a proper education. Thankfully, it doesn’t dwell too long on real-world issues. Miranda had the good sense to remove a reference to Trump from “96,000”, substituting Tiger Woods’ name instead.
In the Heights contains great performances from a multi-talented, ethno-correct cast led by Ramos who shows he’s got what it takes to be a leading man. Everybody does a fine job, but I’d like to give a special shout-out to Merediz who reprises her role from the stage show. Her character Abuela (Spanish for “grandmother”) is mother to the entire neighborhood. She’s always at the ready with good advice and words of wisdom. It’s a heartrending performance that culminates in a wistful number (“Paciencia y Fe”) where she recounts her past as a hard-working immigrant trying to make it in America. It involves riding vintage subway cars and walking through darkened stations. It foreshadows a tragic event that affects the entire neighborhood.
In the Heights is a big, colorful portrait of a beautiful culture painted on a canvas of a lively, music-filled New York neighborhood. The cinematography by Alice Brooks is simply gorgeous. There are images- e.g. silky fabrics spilling out of buildings, a couple dancing on the side of a building- that will stay with you forever. The choreography is flawless throughout. Check out the number in the dance club (“The Club”). You get tired just looking at it. The music is a brilliant fusion of rap, hip-hop, salsa, meringue and traditional musical theater. I can’t think of a single thing I don’t like about In the Heights. It’s the best film I’ve seen all year.
