In The Heights (2021)
Directed by Jon M. Chu; screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes based on the Broadway Musical of the same name by Lin-Manuel Miranda; starring Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, and Corey Hawkins.
3.5/5
I’d like to preface this review by making it clear that I’m absolutely not an aficionado of the musical genre by any means. The fact that my favourite musical is La La Land, a film I likely only saw because of its director and the buzz his involvement generated is probably a bit of a tell for those who have actually invested time and passion into the performance arts.
It should also be made clear that I will be treating this as just another film. Now, personally, I don’t think that’ll necessarily be the greatest way of judging it on its own merits. I pride myself on the fact that I’m able to contextualise a film both in a societal sense and a cinematic one and I just don’t think I’ll be able to do that as effectively for this film.
This being said, however, it’s my hope that with my increasing dedication to the entirety of film as a medium in the name of covering most new releases, in the future I will inevitably learn a bit more about musicals and how they function in a bit more of a technical sense.
In the event that I come back to In The Heights specifically, though, I’ll most certainly revise my critical opinion of it and produce some new writing on it.
So with that out of the way, what did I actually make of the film?
Well, I liked it. I wasn’t blown away by it and some of the discussions I’ve seen about its issues with colourism along with Miranda’s own involvement in the project have blotted the spotless sheen the film once had for me, but it’s still a really enjoyable, heartfelt film that I think more people should see if they get the chance.
The film started life out as a highly successful musical created by Hamilton star and creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, that started life out as a student theatre company’s production, and early on being turned into a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes, before it premiered professionally back in 2005, then was picked up to feature on Broadway in 2008, subsequently winning Tonies for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations.
So some kind of adaptation was bound to come about at some point, then. It was pretty much inevitable.
Initially, the cinematic project was intended to start production the same year it had its Broadway debut in 2011, with Kenny Ortega tipped to direct – a guy who had at that point only been directorially involved with The Newsies and Hocus Pocus and had otherwise mainly worked, at least in the cinematic arts, as a choreographer on films like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Dirty Dancing.
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for us, considering how it’s turned out) as is always the case, financial margins got in the way and the project was cancelled the same year it was slated to be released. It was around 2016 when Warner Bros. got their hands on the project and things finally started to move again, with Crazy Rich Asians director, Jon M. Chu, on board to direct and Hudes to adapt the Broadway production into screenplay format.
In The Heights opens on one Usnavi de la Vega (played by Anthony Ramos and named such by his father after he saw a naval ship glide by on his entry into the country), regaling a huddle of kids of his past life in America. In particular, focusing on one pivotal summer that was defined by an extended blackout that knocked out power to the entirety of his old neighbourhood – the predominantly Latin-American Washington Heights.
He’s the closest thing we’ll get to a main character, narrating and guiding us through his nostalgia-dripping narrative, but the rest of thing closely follows the paths of a variety of different characters, all trapped in – or maybe enchanted by is more apt – their little corner of that huge city, New York.
Four players stand out: Usnavi, himself the proud, hardworking owner of a beloved neighbourhood bodega where seemingly everyone drops by, if not for the company then to get their hands on another lotto ticket; Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), a hair stylist with dreams of moving downtown and becoming a fashion designer and also the subject of Usnavi’s up-until-now unspoken love; Nina (Leslie Grace), the daughter of the owner of Rosario’s (Jimmy Smits) taxi company, returned, entirely disillusioned by her time spent away from the Heights at the prestigious Stanford; and Benny (Corey Hawkins), Usnavi’s closest friend – besides his cousin Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV), who works for him at the bodega – a cab dispatcher at Rosario’s and Nina’s old flame from before she left.
Though I can understand feelings to the contrary, each one of these roles seems really well-rounded to me. Usnavi does take centre stage and frames the whole thing, but he doesn’t exactly hog the limelight, and frequently Chu and Hudes – and I suppose Miranda by extension – seem entirely happy to explore the interior lives of the entire block. Each character’s dreams and passions are thrust into the fore with a deep caring and understanding that I think stretches beyond simple knowledge of how to write characters for the screen.
I think the compliments should also be extended to the fantastic cast, though. Anthony Ramos seems like he’s capable of conjuring oodles of charisma with just about anyone on screen and is about as joyous to watch as they come – and it’s the same case for his younger cousin, played by Gregory Diaz IV, whose career in the arts is virtually guaranteed to be an interesting one.
But there’s more to these two performances – and everyone else’s for that matter – than pure character acting, there’s also raw musical talent. I don’t think I could fault a single cog or wheel for being squeaky here when it comes to vocal and choreographic execution, and there’s no better place than this is demonstrated than by one of the film’s best numbers (besides the crushing meditation on what immigration truly means for the individual, ‘Paciencia y Fe’, of course): ‘96,000.’
It’s a rather large showpiece. The kind with a huge number of moving parts that can just as easily become dazzlingly tedious to watch as it can be a space for the production to really let loose and show its brilliance. But In The Heights makes it work, clinging ever so tightly to the latter, I think because of its extraordinary understanding of its own scale.
The piece takes place at the local community pool. Everyone’s gathered there to properly cool off from the sweltering summer heat. Moments before he and his friends depart, though, Usnavi discovers quite suddenly that one of his bodega’s customers – meaning someone on the block – has won the lottery, guaranteeing them a payout of around $96,000. The premise for the song is that everyone gathered at the pool is given some time to express what they might do with their money and the resulting celebratory ensemble number is equal parts heart-warming, -breaking, and hilarious. It’s huge but also immensely intimate – the masses of dancers aren’t faceless, they’re easily identifiable denizens of Washington Heights.
My one bugbear with the film is unfortunately rooted deep.
For me, Miranda himself has become an increasingly grating figure to watch in most of what he’s in or involved with, unfortunately. I did enjoy Hamilton, but the undertones it came with have stuck with me longer than any wonderment I derived from the actual production. The kind of rehabilitative, fan-like reverence Miranda had for the figures he was depicting quickly turned from infectious to a little unsavoury to me and it’s been a bit of a sticking point with the hype that particular project has garnered.
I think the cause of this is that Miranda’s involvement in things always appears so self-serving (his incessant need to make things appear cool and overly complicated is really frustrating) and certainly not as earnest in intention as he seems to frequently make out.
This isn’t to say I think he’s a negative figure to be maligned, just as I don’t think that the criticisms this film has rightly attracted for its lack of Afro-Latino representation should mean its strides in broader, mainstream representation for the Latin community are ignored, his projects and appearances just always have the effect of making me squirm just a little bit.
It’s a little telling to me that, even though for the purposes of the film, the role is diminished and serves no actual narrative purpose anymore, the part of the piragüero has still been kept around so that Miranda can appear in a cameo capacity, holding desperately onto an array of solo performances that could really easily have been scrapped. Personally, with how enjoyable Crazy Rich Asians is in mind, if Chu had made this film his own rather than allowing Miranda so frequently on-set, the whole thing would’ve been better for it.
When it comes down to it, though, In The Heights is a story about the American Dream as experienced by a subsection of American society it was never promised to, much less provided any kind of means to achieve. For that reason, it’s an important, relevant story and it’s being told here in a way that I think a lot of people are going to find immensely watchable. It’s fun, bright, hopeful – and as far as I can see (but again, this genre is a bit of a blind spot for me) it’s incredibly well-made.
Watched on 25th June 2021