In the Heights

At long last, the first truly great movie of 2021 is here.  After over a year of pandemic weariness, In the Heights is a jolt of life and energy that audiences badly need.  It is showing in both theaters and streaming on HBO Max, and I truly hope people will opt to see this in a theater setting.  Not only is this the way the movie is meant to be seen, but in a theatrical environment, this is a film where you can just let the songs, the choreography, and the joy wash over you.

Based on the 2008 Tony-Winning Broadway Musical that introduced the world to Lin-Manuel Miranda, this is the rare film that is worthy of repeat viewings, and one that you want to not only watch again as soon as possible, but show it to as many people as quickly as possible.  Some have complained that there is too little plot here in order to sustain a film that runs for nearly two and a half hours.  No one is more critical of how movies have gotten unnecessarily long in recent years than me, and let me say that I never once noticed the passing of time.  I was too engaged and wrapped up in the musical story of New York's Washington Heights, and the individual people and their stories that make up the film.

In the original stage production, Miranda played the lead role of Usnavi, a young man who runs a corner store and dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic where his family originated before they came to America.  In the film, Anthony Ramos gives a truly star-making turn in the role, while Miranda himself gets a memorable cameo as a guy who pushes a cart selling shaved ice, and his eternal struggle with the ice cream man competition.  In the film's opening moments, Usnavi introduces us to himself, the regulars at his store, and the neighborhood in general in a musical number that is all at once kinetic, lively, and performed to perfection.  Director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) has expanded the story from beyond its limited stage roots, giving it moments of flash that simply would not be possible on Broadway, and creating some truly unforgettable dance sequences that I won't spoil here, but flawlessly blend masterful choreography with dream-like Hollywood images.

The film as a whole is really a bunch of smaller stories that make up a larger and layered piece.  There are the gossipy ladies at the beauty parlor, the girl who went to a prestige college and was supposed to make everyone on her block feel proud, but comes home feeling like a failure after one year, and a mystery surrounding a winning lotto ticket that was apparently purchased from Usnavi's store.  Themes of dreams, heritage, and where we originally came from are also frequently brought up.  There are also a lot of relationships being juggled here, such as the one between Usnavi and Vanessa (Melissa Barrerra), who works at the local beauty parlor, and dreams of going into fashion, while Usnavi wonders if his dream of leaving his street behind and his dream of being with her can work.  

With a movie like In the Heights, it's hard to know where to start praising, because there is just so much that is wonderful here.  I guess the performances would be the best place to begin, so let me say that there is some Award-caliber work on display.  Leslie Grace as Nina, the girl who went to Stanford and was supposed to make everyone proud, is sublime, as is Corey Hawkins as Benny, a dispatch worker who works under her father (Jimmy Smits).  Their relationship creates a compelling triangle with both Benny and her father trying to guide and encourage her.  Benny and Nina also get to share the film's most magical musical number, "When the Sun Goes Down", which choreographer Christopher Scott has turned into a thrilling and gravity-defying feat in ways that won't be revealed here.  This is a movie that perfectly blends the small and honest hopes and dreams of people with elaborate and gorgeously mounted musical numbers that feel epic in scope, but never once feel out of place, or make us lose the feeling of intimacy that the film is trying to create.

I would also be remiss not to bring up Olga Merediz, who is the only cast member from the original stage production who recreates her role here as Usnavi's surrogate Cuban grandmother.  She too gets one of the film's most memorable musical sequences in a number that is simultaneously tender, heartbreaking, and awe-inspiring in how it has been visualized.  Just like on the stage, this production is awash with thoughts, ideas, dreams, and experiences that feel lived-in.  It's a musical that feels like it comes from a place deep within the writer's past or personal experiences.  That is where the power of this particular work comes from, in my opinion.  True, there is very little conflict and no real antagonist here, but it doesn't need those kind of story gimmicks to be engaging.  The musical stands on its own with the stories it tells, and the visual flair that this cinematic vision adds only enhances instead of distracting from what made the original so lauded.

In the Heights is the perfect blend of form and function, and is one of the very best entertainments I can think of playing right now.  Please don't pass up the opportunity to see this on the largest screen possible.  It's worth the drive, it's worth the admission price, and it's worth seeing multiple times.  I might be doing just that very soon.

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