Review: "In the Heights" sets the bar high for modern movie musicals
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 at 9:30PM by Nathaniel R
A young man stares out of his bodega window, his favourite block coming alive in the reflection. This shot of Usnavi, our leading man and guide into the film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights is already beloved and with good reason. It gives you character (this man is something of a dreamer, caught between two places), world-building (the vibrant Latinx community of Washington Heights) and joyful genre specificity (the musical). It's not even the first clever moment in the movie at that, but something In the Heights builds up in its ever-escalating opening number after already providing you with gorgeous aerial shots romanticizing NYC as 'a city made of music', sounds from hoses, traffic, manhole covers, and alarm clocks as musical accompaniment, and introducing us to most of the main characters.
Above all else this visual beat as well as the larger song sequence that contains it, instills immediate confidence that the creative team, especially director Jon M. Chu (of Crazy Rich Asians fame) understand the oft-forgotten cinematic language of the film musical...
As a lifelong devotee of the genre who has spent quite a lot of time in Washington Heights (one of my best friends is Puerto Rican and used to live there), I felt both a rush of joy and a sense of relief from all the details and magic. One number in and the movie has already taken off. How high can it rise?
In the Heights began life as a Tony-winning musical that introduced composer/actor Lin-Manuel Miranda to the world seven years before he achieved household name status with the global sensation of Hamilton. In the film version he appears selling sno-cones (though he gets a random comical stinger, too, so sit through the credits) gifting the centerpiece role to Anthony Ramos, who played his son in Hamilton. You can feel In the Heights theatrical roots in its initial direct-to-camera sung narration, a staple in musical theater albeit minus the camera, but otherwise it's all cinema. The movie's corny framing device - Usnavi telling his story to a group of overly enthusiastic children -- is the script's weakest element which isn't surprising once you break it down. It's the kind of movie-specific addition that's often added to stage-to-screen pieces as replacement for stage narration. Since the narration is still there, inextricable from the song structure, the storytelling device is entirely redundant.
And "story" isn't the selling point of In The Heights, not really. The musical is instead a mosaic weaving in mini portraits of simple stories to paint a complex portrait of a whole community: Usnavi runs a local bodega with his teenage cousin Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV, film debut) but dreams of relocating them both to the Dominican Republic to reopen his dad's old bar; Daniela (Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega of Rent fame) runs a local beauty parlor with Carla (Stephanie Beatriz) and scene-stealer Cuca (Dascha Polanco, Orange is the New Black) but she's soon shutting down to take the operation to the South Bronx; Kevin Rosario (Emmy winner Jimmy Smits) runs a nearby car service where Usnavi's friend Benny (Corey Hawkins, Straight Outta Compton) works, but Kevin is financially strapped since his daughter Nina (Leslie Grace, film debut) is in her first year of college at an Ivy League school; Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), the block's much-desired beauty, isn't romantic about the neighborhood like her friends and is eager to escape and become a fashion designer; All of the characters are gently loved and often fed by the block's chosen-family matriarch Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz, the only member of the original Broadway cast to transfer her stage performance to the screen).
It's from this mosaic of endearing characters of all shapes and sizes and ages that the lively wonderfully choreographed and performed songs emerge. Though In the Heights is funny and high-spirited and inspirational, it's not without substance, commenting organically on issues like the political battle over Dreamers, being torn between your country of origin and where you've made your life, systemic racism in housing and careers, chosen family, and the cultural loss that comes from gentrification.
The cast is wonderful throughout each actor shining brightly in their big solos but also gamely and joyously melding into the ensemble. (Imagine casting only gifted musical performers in a musical; What a novel concept!). The perfect example of this is the climactic "Carnaval del Barrio" when Daphne Rubin-Vega's hairdresser riles up the whole neighborhood to dance and sing rather than merely sweat in the oppressive heat post-blackout when air-conditioners aren't working. One thing that's often lost from stage to screen is the energy of live performance but In the Heights doesn't misplace it. It's not just Rubin-Vega who brings it like there's a huge paying audience wanting to dance in their seats and laugh. Other favourites? Corey Hawkins charms and sings beautifully like a born romantic leading man, Melissa Barrera is electric and sexy in a big dance number "The Club", Gregory Diaz IV has lively comic timing, especially evident in the opening number and in "96,000", but brings it when the drama hits, and Olga Merediz shows those of us who missed the show on Broadway why she was Tony-nominated as Abuela.
Yet no one can steal the picture from Anthony Ramos. The actor first came to national attention in two roles in Hamilton, though there was plenty of room for his career to grow since neither were all that showcased in that insanely popular show. He moved on to a charming but small supporting role in A Star is Born (2018) as Lady Gaga's Gay Best Friend and now gets his own starmaking movie musical as follow-up. The performance has everything a leading man could want: charm, pathos, screen magnetism, romantic gestures, comic timing. Best of all, every clever lyric he spits or sings in Miranda's dizzying songs, and every gesture in his dancing feels utterly spontaneous like he's living it all in real time, in this moment only and the camera somehow captured it. This is a miraculous feat since there's nothing less spontaneous than singing complex lyrics and dancing fun choreography in gigantic setpieces while carrying an entire movie on your back. It's the most joyful leading-man work in a movie musical since Ewan McGregor's Christian in the seminal Moulin Rouge!
And finally a huge round of applause for Jon Chu's skill and care behind the camera. While so many other modern movie musicals feel slapped together with a limited understanding (or at best a stage-bound understanding) of what makes the form magical, Chu has either studied the form intently or was born to direct them. In the Heights pulls from classics seeking visual inspiration from Busby Berkeley spectacles in the pool performance of "96,000" (it's such movie musical bliss I never wanted it to end), and maybe Fred Astaire's Royal Wedding dance as Benny and Nina defy gravity together, their building spinning to accomodate their romantic dance ("When the Sun Goes Down").
Most importantly Chu and his expert craftsmen delicately but boisterously balance the entire movie on a highwire between realism and surrealism where dramatic musicals can best thrive. In the Heights has its feet on the ground and its head somewhere dreamier... not unlike Usnavi. When Abuela remembers her childhood as an immigrant in "Pacienda y Fe (Patience and Faith)", a subway transforms all around her transporting us back in time with her. When Vanessa's strolls down the street for her 'I want' song "I Won't Be Long Now", huge swaths of fabric billow and unfurl over the buildings of Washington Heights. None of these visual flourishes are spectacle for spectacle's sake (though they look sensational on a giant movie theater screen), but tethered to characterization, dreams, and story.
Images like these and that opening bodega reflection, that densely pack in information in imaginative ways while remaining light enough on their feet to leap and spin with velocity and precision are all too rare in modern movie musicals. In the Heights blessedly has an abundance of them. It lifts off early and rarely comes down again. A/A-
In the Heights is currently playing in movie theaters nationwide. It is also streaming on HBOMax (through July 11th) but the movie deserves and rewards the big screen so support it in a movie theater if you can.
Reader Comments (28)
Great write-up for a fantastic movie which I have seen twice already. Musicals are my favorite genre and this movie confirms that Jon Chu should be making a lot more of them. Some of those numbers and visuals (especially on the big screen) were stupendous. Brava to all involved!
So... who’s getting Oscar nominated???
Great film, and I hope the box office stacks up over the summer. Anthony Ramos was so good in this.
Many of the IMDB user reviews on this have been tepid - I wonder why? And the box office was disappointing. Oscars may be a far reach.
I loved the movie, I cried and laugh countless times, such an amazing experience, especially for latinos. I am a big fan of musicals and this movie is top 5 best musicals of this millenium.
*For the record Top5 = MR! Dancer in the Dark, Hedwig, Once and ITH.
Gorgeous and Exciting and Moving Show.
I want to love this film, but only end up liking it. For such a simple story, It's a bit long. And I can't find the one song that made me wanna sing with it. The defying gravity sequence is my favorite. Feeling sorry for Lin-Manuel Miranda for all the things he's facing right now. He deserves all the praises and success.
I am sure this movie is going to pick with word of mouth. What a joy to watch, rather experience.
JS- Honestly? Given the release date, everyone's a longshot, but...
LIKELY:
Olga Merediz, Supporting Actress
LONGSHOTS:
Anthony Ramos, Actor
Jon M Chu, Director
Adapted Screenplay
Cinematography
Editing
NOT HAPPENING, BUT I WANT IT:
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Supporting Actress
If there was such a thing as an Oscar Clip for Best Director "96,000" would ABSOULUTLY be Chu's. One of the most ELECTRIC musical set pieces I've seen in years.
Pluses:
The acting by all involved, especially Ramos, Merediz, Hawkins, Smits
The color, the joy, the pure love of cinema onscreen
Well-choreographed musical numbers (finally)
Minuses:
The length (as mentioned above); 2.5 hrs for what feels like a slight film ultimately
The CGI in some sequences is a bit too obvious, as in the otherwise gorgeous sunset dance
The songs are clever and enhance the plot, but really not hummable
Overall grade: B
I hope this attempt to cancel LMM doesn't affect all his other projects this year
I thought the big production numbers were exceptional - creative, joyful, expressed a love of both the stage musical and film musical conventions. I struggle to think of a movie from the last 40 years that could hold a candle to these set pieces (maybe Moulin Rouge?).
The non-singing parts were such a disappointment though. The acting was good but the plot was such a dud, even by musical standards. The illegal immigration subplot (which does not exist in the stage show) is so on the nose it's sort of painful. And the Benny/Nina romance is way less interesting. Frustrating because all the pieces were there for an all-timer but it's like 10% off for me at least.
I didn't love it. The performances were great, and I thought that Chu did a wonderful job of opening the story up visually and creating this immersive world, but it was long, and it felt long. The length was a major issue for me because the songs, while wonderfully performed, just didn't land for me. Unfairly or not, I kept hearing first drafts of things that would ultimately end up in Hamilton. I do sense that it would benefit from a rewatch, but a few scenes aside, I also sense it would take a lot for me to get back around to it.
Absolutely fell in love with this movie. What a funny note - a musical cast with actual musical talent. (is there a list somewhere of every sore thumb in a musical film?)
Oscar wise, who knows that this point. I think it would be more exciting nominating this than WSS, which we all know will dominate the awards. I hope ITH is a contender, specifically for Ruben-Vega for supporting actress.
What a great film!
96,000 is the definite high point of the film, but it's good all the way through. The energy in the dance sequences is terrific, and I was so pleased that the director found special ways to make it cinematic.
Olga Merediz has the clearest shot at a nomination. Abuela's big moments in the show got shuffled around to create a huge showpiece leading into the last act of the film and she nailed "Pacienca y Fe" as well (if not better) than when she originated the role on Broadway. That sequence is as strong an FYC ad as Jennifer Hudson singing "And I'm Telling You" in Dreamgirls.
The American obsession with skin tones is an embarrassment
Prediction: In The Heights will be the big box office (through word of mouth) and critical success, and West Side Story remake will be a flop. Why did Spielberg think he could remake something better than the original???
I loved it. The only modern "traditional" musical (meaning a film where people break out in song to express their feelings, as opposed to films like Inside Llewyn Davis or A Star Is Born, where all the music comes from musician characters in performance contexts) that I liked as much or more is Moulin Rouge! I actually thought the plot was very moving, particularly the storylines involving Abuela and Nina, and the film moved swiftly for me.
I do feel that the HBO Max partnership did dull box office somewhat. I definitely want to see it again, but I will probably watch it on HBO Max a second time. If that weren't an option, I would go to the theater.
I do feel that the HBO Max partnership did dull box office somewhat.
That didn't hurt Morrtal Kombat and The Conjuring 3 lol
Now with the laber "box office flop" and the colorblind controversy, this film won't be touch by AMPAS. But dreaming again like last year.
Wonder if Spielberg's worried.
Great review, Nathaniel! I really enjoyed IHH and was glad I saw it in a theater, but I wish the audience I'd seen it had been a bit livelier or more responsive - there was barely a peep even at the funniest or most spectacular moments. I think that contributed to its feeling longer and more discursive than the show did, even though it's actually shorter.
I may now have a teeny crush on Anthony Ramos. My one quibble, magnified while listening to the original Broadway cast soundtrack afterwards, is that he's almost too attractive/exudes too much cool to play Usnavi. With LMM I could easily buy him as a shy, awkward guy, almost a bit of a dork, who feels he's out of his league with Vanessa. With Ramos...not so much. On the plus side, this means the chemistry between them really sizzles.
Re: colorism controversy, all I'll say, as someone with no real standing to discuss this issue, is that while I have no doubt it's an issue that should be discussed (and, more importantly, remedied), I'm with Rita Moreno. I wish we could enjoy this Very Nice Thing we have and what a marvelous accomplishment it marks *before* the internet/social media got its knives out.
Re: box office, I was actually skeptical this would be a big hit right off the bat - even with the LMM/Hamilton connection, it's still a much less widely known MUSICAL with a loose plot and no big stars. I'm hopeful it will do well in the long run through word of mouth if the colorism thing doesn't have a negative effect. Hard to say if it will, since we all know Twitter ≠ general movie audiences.
You made Rita Moreno apologize like she was a child molester or a fascist. I hate it. You'll get another Trump in five years.
Cuyas -- Careful with that "you" lol. wasn't me. I loved the movie and Rita Moreno is a national treasure. i worry about another Trump (and a smarter one) too. The left makes itself such an easy target by always attacking our own. God help us.
Lynn -- i think word of mouth will be great but I just dont know what that means anymore with the instantly streaming world.
Mortal Kombat and The Conjuring 3 are movies that appeal primarily to teenagers and guys under 25 who are just looking for something to do. (Do most of the people who attended those movies even have HBO Max?) They aren't comparable to In the Heights, which is the first post-pandemic wide release movie aimed at adults.
All right, for all the Oscar talk, it must be dead now, right?
I saw it yesterday in a big theater. What an amazing experience!! The musical numbers are all powerful. The hightlights for me would be 9600, Paciencia y Fe, and When the sun goes down. Golden Globes nominations are pretty sure. In the Oscars, it could be a serious contender, especially in editing and supporting actress (Olga Merediz). Don't miss it!
Dear Nathaniel: Stanford is not Ivy League.