Barrett Brief Movie Review – In the Heights: Saccharin Songs & Leftist Dreams

Barrett Brief Movie Review – In the Heights: Saccharin Songs & Leftist Dreams

Summary: A film version of the Broadway musical in which Usnavi, a sympathetic New York winery owner, saves every penny every day as he imagines and sings about a better life.

Genre: Drama, Music, Musical

In The Heights is the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda stage production. Now those who don’t know will think of this as a knockoff of his more successful musical, Hamilton, and you wouldn’t be at fault if you thought that. Miranda’s musical style is unique, however it tends to sound very similar. That said, there is a seed of truth and beauty in this film. The American ideal fo coming here for a chance at a better life whether it be from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico or the Dominican Republic. The last country is where where are main character USnavi (Anthony Ramos), is from and longs too return back. The film covers a summer in the section of New York called Washington Heights (in the heights, get it?) and along the way we are introduced to Benny (Corey Hawkins), Nina (Leslie Grace), Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) among others. Despite decent performances and catchy songs, In The Heights falters when it stops to insert mandatory leftist talking points about how ultimately bad they all have it here. 

The Summer of Something

This story is told through a flashback by Usnavi, to a group of children about a summer (I guess this summer? Last summer? The summer of 69? We don’t know) and how he was going to finally fulfill his dream of buying his fathers old bar in the Dominican Republic (which was destroyed in a fire). His bud Benny is doing well at a local cab company, hope to move up the ranks. Vanessa an employee at the s corner salon (and with whom Usnavi had long been infatuated), dreams of one day leaving the corner and getting an apartment in the West Village to become a fashion designer. Then you have Sonny, who helps run the bodega that his cousin (Usnavi) owns. There are other characters, but I am going to be honest, I found most of them, outside of Jimmy Smits (who plays Kevin Rosario) boring. Oh yeah, Miranda pops in and out as a shaved ice vendor. As the summer moves on, every character will have to face up to the fact that if they don’t leave Washington Heights soon, they will be “stuck” there until they die, like their elders before them.

 The Cast

The cast is very pleasant. Anthony Ramos is a likely and confident lead. Melissa Barrera portrays the struggles of Vanessa with realism, we have all known a friend that had similar dreams that crashed and burned and she is a good proxy for that. Leslie Grace carries the weight that her character struggles with while not going over the top. For me, the standout performance was Corey Hawkins. Likable, charming and charismatic in every scene that he is in. Jimmy Smits brings a real sense of gravitas to the film, and the message he gets speaks to gets lost in the SJW messaging. Some of the supporting characters where just way to over the top, but hey I’m a white dude so maybe I’m not suppose to get it. 

Plot & Pacing

When this film deals with the problems and relationships regarding these 4, the film hums along at a good pace. When the film goes on an unnecessary side plot (attending a rally for “undocumented immigrants”, a false accusation based on race (which in reality when we hear about those, the majority of the time they turn out to be false) they films comes to a complete stop. As far as the pacing goes, this is a film based on a musical, which means pacing is a dirty word and should never be spoken about again. This film is 2hrs and 23 minutes, and they could have shaved off at least 30 minutes of runtime.

Technical notes

If you liked the soundtrack to Hamilton, then you will love the soundtrack to In The Heights. Each song is delivered strongly, the choreography is crisp and most of the songs are the highlight of the film (which based on a musical, they should be). Cinematographer Alice Brooks brings the block to life in a series of colorful and visually pleasant shots.

Overall

Despite decent performances and catchy songs, In The Heights falters when it stops to insert mandatory leftist talking points about how ultimately bad they all have it here. 

Score:

2 out of 4 briefcases