In The Heights
This movie adaptation of the award-winning Broadway musical that Lin-Manuel Miranda made prior to Hamilton was always going to suffer from comparisons to his subsequent masterpiece, but his love letter to his old neighbourhood in New York is still packed full of originality, joy and cultural influences, even if the storyline is a little more familiar.
Premise: The musical tells the stories of a community in Washington Heights through the eyes of bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) and his friends Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), Nina (Leslie Grace) and Benny (Corey Hawkins), while they all pursue their dreams of a better life while dealing with a heatwave, a blackout, and a hunt for a winning lottery ticket.
Review:
First things first, In The Heights is not Hamilton. This seems like an obvious thing to say, but it’s an important point, as perhaps In The Heights’ biggest problem is that it’s always going to be unfavourably compared to the cultural phenomenon that Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote after it. But whereas Hamilton was an ambitious, genre-defining production that tackled epic historical events, In The Heights is a much more traditional musical, at least as far as the plot is concerned.
That’s not to say that the plot is derivative (like everything Lin-Manuel Miranda does, In The Heights overflows with creativity and originality), but it deals with much more traditional subject matters (unrequited loves, coming of age, disapproving parents, finding your place in the world, will they/won’t they romances etc). But what gives In The Heights a strong sense of individuality is the setting and context for those familiar storytelling tropes.
“…it’s the setting for these stories that makes them feel like they have something new to say…”
Lin-Manuel Miranda created In The Heights as a love letter to his old neighbourhood, and the neighbourhood and its community are the heart and soul of the musical, with the film shot on location in Washington Heights. Conflicting forces pull the characters in different directions, as on the one hand, many of the characters dream of leaving the neighbourhood in search of a better life, but on the other hand, the unrelenting gentrification of the area is pricing many of the local businesses and residents out of the neighbourhood.
Two of the characters dreaming of escaping to a better life are bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) and wannabe fashion designer Vanessa (Melissa Barrera). Usnavi dreams of reopening his father’s beach bar in the Dominican Republic, while Vanessa just wants to escape her “dead end job” in the nail salon and have a chance to show what she’s capable of. Meanwhile, Benny (Corey Hawkins) is happy staying in the neighbourhood and working for local business owner Kevin (Jimmy Smits), while Kevin’s daughter Nina (Leslie Grace) struggles with the weight of expectation placed on her by the whole community as the first girl from the neighbourhood to be admitted to Stanford University.
“…the cultural heritage of the neighbourhood can be felt in all of the musical numbers…”
On the one hand, all of these characters are, in broad terms, fairly familiar archetypes, but it’s the setting for these stories that makes them feel like they have something new to say. The idea of dreaming of a better life may not be anything new, but it takes on a different meaning in the context of people and families who have sacrificed everything to immigrate to America to pursue those dreams. Equally, Nina’s struggles at college take on a different tone once she reveals the institutional racism and micro-aggressions she’s had to face on a daily basis. And as fun and playful as the film can be at times, it also doesn’t shy away from the realities of the immigrant experience, even going as far as explicitly attacking the obstacles facing undocumented children trying to obtain American citizenship.
Just as the setting gives the storylines extra meaning, the cultural heritage of the largely Dominican neighbourhood of Washington Heights can be felt in all of the musical numbers. In The Heights incorporates hip-hop, rap and Latinx musical influences into its musical numbers – with some feeling a little more towards the traditional show-tunes end of the spectrum (like When You’re Home and Champagne), while others have stronger hip-hop elements (like 96,000, arguably the catchiest musical number) or Latinx influences (like No Me Diga and Carnaval Del Barrio) – so there should be something for everyone.
“…director Jon M. Chu finds interesting & creative ways to capture the musical numbers…”
If the musical numbers are the highlight (which they are), then the visuals and staging of those numbers need to be interesting enough to justify this film adaptation’s existence (otherwise, they might as well have just released a recording of the stage production, like they did with Hamilton). Thankfully, director Jon M. Chu excels in this regard, finding interesting and creative ways to capture the music and dance performances, be that by framing dance routines in a window’s reflection, animating lyrics in the air around the performers, or letting imaginations run wild with flights of fancy that see dancers defying gravity.
The cast are universally excellent, both in terms of their acting and their musical performances. Anthony Ramos – so far best known as a Broadway performer – is clearly destined for big things in Hollywood, and the relative newcomers Melissa Barrera and Leslie Grace are both totally convincing on screen as arguably the emotional core of the film. Meanwhile, Corey Hawkins continues to prove that there are no limits to his talents, while veteran Jimmy Smits navigates his way skilfully to avoid the obvious clichés that could have arisen playing Nina’s father.
“…a very enjoyable summer-flavoured cinematic hit…”
Ultimately, despite being based around more traditional storytelling archetypes than Hamilton, In The Heights’ combination of heart-warming and aspirational community spirit, foot-tapping Latinx-influenced musical numbers, and imaginative visuals and direction make the film a very enjoyable summer-flavoured cinematic hit.
