Celebration of community rises to new Heights in joyful adaptation
Full disclosure: I’m someone who doesn’t typically like musicals. I’m jarred when, mid-conversation, characters break into a big song and dance number, and everyone acts like that’s a totally normal way to communicate. Then the dialogue resumes, as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around that. So I was a bit apprehensive to see the film version of In the Heights, a musical I had seen live, and hadn’t found memorable. But my cynical self was blown away: not only is the movie better than I could have imagined, but it benefits tremendously from the shift to the big screen.
By moving the story from a static, confined stage to elaborate, real world sets and the actual bustling streets of New York City, director Jon Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) immerses us in NYC’s Washington Heights neighborhood in a way the stage production could only leave up to our imaginations. Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame created In the Heights some ten years before that famous work, back in 2005 (along with playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes), and he returns as screenwriter. Hamilton fans unfamiliar with its creator’s earlier work will find similar themes of identity, community, and the immigrant experience explored here.
These themes are reflected through several parallel narratives that play out over a sweltering hot summer in the heavily Latino, vibrant Washington Heights neighborhood. Our main storyline follows Usnavi (whose unusual name is explained in one of the film’s funniest quick asides), a Dominican-born bodega owner played by Anthony Ramos, and Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), an aspiring fashion designer. Nina (Leslie Grace) has returned home from an unhappy experience at Stanford to reconnect with her old boyfriend Benny (Corey Hawkins), who works for her father’s (Jimmy Smits) car service company.
Usnavi is our guide to these two romances, and to the neighborhood as a whole. The picture’s framing device allows Usnavi to recount the tale of that summer to a group of curious children. That summer, Usnavi explains, everyone in the Heights had a sueñito – a little dream. What those dreams are, and how they do – or don’t – come to fruition comprise the heart of the picture.
Heart is also an apt word to describe the cast. Chu has assembled a phenomenal group of actors, singers, and dancers whose energy and joy is infectious. As Usnavi, Ramos is outstanding, and Gregory Diaz IV, who plays Usnavi’s nephew Sonny, is remarkable, especially given his young age. Hawkins, too, has an amazing voice. The only weak link, ironically, is probably the picture’s most famous face: Jimmy Smits, a consummate dramatic actor, seems a bit out of his depth when he has to sing. His performance may bring back cringe-inducing memories of Russell Crowe in Les Miz or Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! But his castmates more than make up for his shortcomings. Olga Meridez, for example, who plays the neighborhood’s adopted abuela Claudia, delivers a beautiful solo reflecting on her Cuban upbringing in a lovely number set on public transit.
The choreography is exceptional across the board, and tons of fun to watch. A scene set at the public pool, where the characters muse on winning the lottery, and an outdoor fiesta scene that encompasses the entirety of the Latino immigrant experience, are standouts, and will have you marveling at the beauty and prowess of the ensemble.
The costumes and colors pop off the screen much like the dancing and songs, and the feel of the rising temperature (periodically displayed on screen as it continues to climb) is palpable. As the characters come together to support each other through challenges and celebrations alike, Chu puts us right there with them in their shops, apartments, and busy streets. We viscerally feel the richness of the Heights community, even as its population shifts and transforms thanks to rising rents, gentrification, and the dynamics of a constantly changing big city neighborhood.
After a year-plus of lock down, watching a community of family, friends, and neighbors share their laughter, struggles, dreams, and triumphs inspires us, even as we may also be a little bit envious of their tight connection. We root for our heroes to achieve their goals and dreams, but we know that whatever happens, their circle will always have their backs. No matter where you live, Chu and company tell us, you can strive for the life you want, and know that your tribe will be there with you, spiritually, if not physically. That message resonates during this summer of our slow return to normalcy, as we venture back out, and try to reconnect with our own disconnected, but not forgotten, communities.
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In the Heights opens today at Bay Area theaters, and is available via streaming on HBOMax until July 10th. It will also screen tonight, Friday, June 11th, at 6:30pm at SF’s Oracle Park as part of the Frameline Film Festival. Tickets available here.
