A One Mann’s Movies review of “In the Heights” (2021).
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“In the Heights” is another movie that we seem to have been waiting for for years! But – after one failed viewing attempt… thanks #Cineworld… I finally got to see it.
The sun always shines. And everyone is beautiful. Just like real life. Corey Hawkins and Leslie Grace star. (Source: Warner Brothers).
Plot Summary:
“In the Heights” follows the hopes and dreams of a group of ordinary but ambitious Latinx youngsters, living their lives as best they can in the poor neighbourhood of Washington Heights in New York. They all have their own ‘El Sueñito’ – a little dream – of what they want to achieve.
Clever, clever film-making. Reflections of a great dance number. (Source: Warner Brothers).
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Olga Merediz, Jimmy Smits.
Directed by: Jon M Chu.
Written by: Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda (based on the Musical Stage Play by Lin-Manuel Miranda).
Anthony Ramos as Usnavi (great name derivation!) and Melissa Barrera as Vanessa. (Source: Warner Brothers).
“In the Heights” Review:
Positives:
- A “proper” musical, with a large percentage of high-octane song and dance numbers.
- As with “Hamilton”, “In the Heights” features some truly clever rap-style lyrics – lyrics so clever that you gasp at the way in which they trip off the singer’s tongue. At one point, Carla (Stephanie Beatriz) sings “My mom is Dominican-Cuban, My dad is from Chile and P.R., which means: I’m Chile-…Dominica-Rican! But I always say I’m from Queens!”. Glorious stuff.
- The dancing is stupendous. The choreography team is led by Christopher Scott, and he joyfully brings back the large set piece dances that we used to see in movies of old. The Esther Williams style swimming routines even make a spectacular return in a glorious Lido sequence (although I could have personally done without the dislocating contortionist dancers here!).
- The four young people taking the leads are all extremely personable (as well as being very good looking). Anthony Ramos in particular shows real star quality, those mesmeric eyes holding your attention for every moment he’s on screen. You get the feeling that Lin-Manuel Miranda (whose superfluous minor role could have usefully ended up on the cutting room floor) was itching to play the lead but was just “too old man”!
- It was also great to see a range of roles for older women as well, with the dramatic sequence with Olga Merediz, the neighbourhood saint and guardian Claudia, being a highpoint in the movie for me.
Olga Merediz (centre) as Abuela Claudia, who actually played the role in the Broadway stage play. (Source: Warner Brothers).
Negatives:
- When you step back and analyse it, the story is pretty slight. You are distracted from this by all the razzle-dazzle going on, but having a bit more meat on the bone would have been welcome. This is particularly the case, since….
- At 143 minutes, I have to say that the movie outstayed its welcome for me by about 20 or 30 minutes. If the movie had been tightened up a bit and shortened, it would I think have been much improved.
- Have you ever walked into a screening at Cineworld (or another cinema chain) and gone “D’OH – – I selected the subtitled showing by mistake!”? I have… a number of times! And I normally hate it. But perhaps not for this one. When I watched the Disney-streamed version of “Hamilton” (I never wrote a review, but a clear 5* movie), I enjoyed it so much more after putting the subtitles on. The combination of the American accents (to my ears) and the speed of delivery meant that a lot of the cleverness of the lyrics, and my comprehension of the story, passed me by. “In the Heights” doesn’t suffer quite as much (possibly thanks to the superior cinema sound), but it certainly took me a while to tune my ears into all of the dialogue.
Some glorious cinematography on show from Alice Brooks. An Oscar nomination perhaps? (Source: Warner Brothers).
Summary Thoughts on “In the Heights”:
This is a musical for those people who say “They don’t make musicals like that anymore”. High octane and full of noise and colour, its a spectacular that doesn’t disappoint. The quirkiness of “Crazy Rich Asians” (which Jon M. Chu also directed) is on full display in some of the sequences, which are cleverly filmed. It’s a movie that had me periodically grinning, not just at the story or the songs but at the movie craft on show.
Is it a bit of an ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’, given the shallowness of the story? Yes, perhaps. And does it laugh in the face of my 90-minute movie ideal? Definitely. But it’s still well worth the price of your movie ticket….. and this IS a movie that demands to be watched on the BIG SCREEN to get the full effect.
Trailer:
The trailer for “In the Heights” is here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CL-ZSuCrQ .
