IN THE HEIGHTS
Director: John M. Chu
Genre: Musical Drama
Starring: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Jimmy Smits
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: June 10, 2021
My Rating: 9/10
When I think of predominantly Latino neighborhoods in New York City, I immediately think of the Bronx and Queens, to be completely honest. I don't think of Washington Heights, the upper Manhattan neighborhood that serves as the setting for In The Heights, the highly-anticipated musical of the summer that was postponed one full year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is of course the big-screen adaptation of the 2008 Broadway musical of the same name from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the "Nuyorican" multi-hyphenate genius behind another more recent stage musical, the hip-hop sensation Hamilton.
In The Heights is set over the course of three hot summer days in the "barrio" or neighborhood of Washington Heights, leading up to a blackout that we are warned about from the very beginning of the film. The story centers on Usnavi (Ramos), a 20-something young man with dreams who came to America from his native Dominican Republic after becoming an orphan. Usnavi owns a "bodega," or small local grocery store, whom he runs with his younger cousin Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) and tries to make the best of every day despite the humble life he leads. As the film opens, Usnavi is sitting at what appears to be a bar by the beach called "El Suenito" (The Little Dream) and is surrounded by a group of small children, to whom he begins recounting the story of his life in the NYC neighborhood, which he says always felt vibrant because "the streets were made of music."
What follows is a dazzling, vivacious opening number whose song title matches the film's name. We get introduced to all of the major characters early on, including Usnavi's friend Benny (Hawkins) who works for the cab company across the street from the bodega, Benny's boss Kevin Rosario (Smits), Usnavi's love interest Vanessa (Barrera), Kevin's daughter and Benny's romantic interest Nina (Grace), and Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz), a kind, elderly woman from Cuba who was a grandmother-like figure to Usnavi growing up and the de-facto matriarch of the Spanish-speaking community in Washington Heights.
Although I never saw the original Broadway production and thus have no point of direct comparison, I can only judge In The Heights based on its attempts to make an entertaining film out of a musical. In this respect, the movie has undoubtedly succeeded. The soundtrack itself may not be as memorable as that of Hamilton, but the choreographed dance numbers that accompany each song are amazing. The pool and nightclub scenes, the latter of which comes just before the blackout, especially stand out in unique ways, as they are full of color and motion.
The film is also extremely timely and relevant because it addresses themes of economic struggles, prejudice, and the American Dream. When the film begins, Nina has returned home from Stanford University and announces to her father and her friends at a local barbershop that she has decided to drop out, much to the dismay of everyone ("No me diga!" or "I can't believe it!" they all respond). Nina sings about the pressure she feels for being treated like the pride and joy of her community because she "made it out" and was able to continue her education by being admitted to an elite college. We then learn that a major contributing factor to Nina's decision was her feeling lonely and like an outsider. More specifically, she reveals, she was often discriminated against for being Hispanic in a predominantly white environment. She opens up about two distinct incidents that made her realize she didn't belong in this new world: a fellow student mistook her for a waiter at an elegant dinner at the university, and her white roommate and her family wrongly accused her of stealing jewelry.
Today, in real life, there are undoubtedly millions of non-white college students (and young people, more generally speaking) across the United States who still experience the same emotions Nina does when they enter a new environment. There is also a brief scene of a protest against the deportation of "Dreamers," or immigrants who came to the U.S. as children- this ties into the story's theme of dreams. The Obama-era DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) policy is mentioned, which demonstrates that the script for the film was adapted to reflect more current issues than the ones that existed when In The Heights first appeared on Broadway (which is when Obama was running for president). Sonny is shown to be crestfallen after learning he is unable to get a college education because he is undocumented. However, he is committed to protesting and speaking out to the injustices he perceives. In the pool scene, he and many others sing about what they would do with $96,000 after Usnavi's bodega sells a winning lottery ticket. "The rich are penetrating, we pay our corporations when we should be demonstrating," Sonny angrily laments. "What about immigration? Politicians be hating', racism in this nation's gone from latent to blatant." That final lyric was likely poignant when In the Heights originally came out on Broadway but is indisputably more accurate today: if that's not a reflection of the current political climate in the post-Trump era, I don't know what is.
There is also the great sense of national pride that is reflected in the post-blackout scene that includes the two songs "Carnaval del Barrio" ("Party in the Hood") and "Alza la Bandera" ("Raise the flag"). As the residents of Washington Heights sit around moping about the scorching weather, salon worker Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega) indignantly exclaims, "Since when are Latin people scared of heat?!" and a big, impromptu dance party begins as dozens of residents proudly waive their nation's banners, and we see glimpses of the Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Mexican flags, among others. It's rare to see something like that in any major Hollywood film, even today.
In the Heights did not do well at the box office, which was likely disappointing to many people involved with the film. However, it was simultaneously released on HBO Max, which many individuals likely chose as their viewing preference given the fact that they can watch the film from the comfort of their home. (Netflix has gained a significant number of subscribers since the pandemic, it's no surprise if HBO's streaming service follows suit.) Nevertheless, the film may have gained something even more meaningful than record ticket sales: the honor of being the first major Hollywood musical film of the 21st century to feature a predominantly Hispanic/nonwhite cast. The movie was even presented at the Tribeca Festival in Washington Heights this year and at other film festivals around the country in areas characterized by a large Spanish-speaking community.
Yes, Miranda and the crew behind the film received criticism for its lack of Afro-Latino actors in the main cast, as these individuals represent a substantial component of Washington Heights. But the truth is that this adaptation of In the Heights remains a huge step forward for Hollywood and could likely pave the way for similar projects in the coming years. Miranda acknowledged the film's shortcomings with regards to representation and responded to the rebukes of "colorism" in his typical eloquent, humble, and respectful manner, which I believe provides a sense of optimism. In the Heights is all about dreams, and hopefully audiences learned to dream in little or big ways after watching this beautiful story unfold on the screen.
No comments:
Post a Comment