Heights

Heights is, at its most basic, an exploration of desires. The characters around whom the movie revolves think they know, at the beginning, where they're headed, what will happen to them, what they want to happen to them. But as the movie progresses, their certainties are challenged and sometimes swept away entirely, and their carefully constructed lives begin to unravel.

Glenn Close is Diana, a brilliant 40-something Shakespearean actress and somewhat irresponsible mother. Her open marriage once seemed like a terrific idea--have your fun on the side, have a loving husband at home--but as her "loving husband" becomes more and more deeply involved with another woman, she begins to realize just how unfulfilling that philosophy is.

Diana's daughter is played by Elizabeth Banks, in a very Scarlett Johanssen-esquire role. Isabel is a struggling photographer who makes ends meet by taking wedding pictures, while still trying to pursue a more serious career. Her second thoughts begin to appear when her upcoming wedding to Jonathan becomes an obstacle to a once-in-a-lifetime chance to use her talent. Jonathan himself has a past he's desperate to hide, potentially ruinous secrets he's working to keep from his wife-to-be.

The situations are strung together by the existence of a never-seen photographer named Benjamin Stone, who is scheduled for an exhibition in a few weeks. A man named Peter, who we are given to understand is Benjamin's current flame, is tracking down his previous models (and incidentally, lovers) to compile his memoirs. His work loosely ties in the rest of the characters, providing some structure to the interlocking plot lines.

This movie has the power and appeal that you generally find in beautiful films about unhappy people. No matter how happy or hopeful you find the ending, it's still a bit of a downer, because of the raw exposure of the characters. There are uncomfortable moments when we're privy to deep-seated emotions and unsettling situations, but there are also remarkably tender moments. The acting is generally understated and simple, with a few intense moments--your basic fare from a character study movie. But the adaptation from stage to screen, though apparent, is nearly seamless, and the text translates well to film.

Highly recommended to fans of Closer and similar movies.

This film begins with the Glenn Close character, a famous actress who could be Close herself, giving a master class in Shakespeare to a bunch of Juilliard acting students, in which she laments the lack of passion she sees in their performances and, more broadly, in the world she inhabits. Which is a fitting, and ironic, prologue for a movie that looks at the ennui of urban lives and the emotional earthquakes that disrupt them. This is a contemporary New York character-driven drama, but it reminds me of a 1970s movie -- in a good way. There are slightly retro split screens, long-lens conversations like mid-period Woody Allen movies, and a sense of lightness in the directing style that never becomes slickness. It's also refreshing to see an independent film that doesn't completely deteriorate in the third act -- it's almost become taboo to tell a story that is satisfying in the world of independent film, because it's seen as a concession to Hollywood. But this manages to do it in a convincing way without selling out to the forces of cheesiness or convention.

Often a film succeeds because of the story, or the writing, or the cast, or the direction. HEIGHTS succeeds brilliantly because of the combination of all of these elements in one of the finest films of the past few years. Beginning with the play and screenplay by Amy Fox, and as carefully and lovingly directed by Chris Terrio with a sterling cast, this film works its subtle magic of a story about serendipity and coincidences and how these alter our lives by accidental occurrences. Or are they accidental? Each of the well-drawn characters in this story is functioning at a level that involves the masks behind which we each hide our personal secrets or idiosyncrasies: each character is either at a 'height' or approaching one, and it is the interplay of these disparate people that creates phrases of music which ultimately combine in a series of themes and variations like a well-composed work of chamber music. And this all occurs within a twenty-four hour period in Manhattan.

Diana (Glenn Close) is the reigning New York actress currently preparing a production of 'Macbeth' with friend director Henry (Eric Bagosian) while simultaneously giving Master Classes at Julliard to a group of acting students who she declares lack passion! Diana's 'height' is challenged by her current anxiety over her open-marriage husband's rather serious affair with one of her students. She holds auditions and a young, struggling, and handsome actor Alec (Jesse Bradford) catches her interest and she sees in him the passion she craves and invites him to her party that evening. Alec, fearful of his chance at his 'height', hesitantly accepts.

Meanwhile Diana's photographer daughter Isabel (Elizabeth Banks) is fired from her portrait job only to be offered an important gig in Eastern Europe by an ex-lover, offering Isabel a chance at her own 'height'. Isabel is engaged to young ambitious lawyer Jonathan (James Marsden remembered for this superb acting in 'The 24th Day') who in preparing to marry a non-Jew is in counseling with his Rabbi (George Segal): there are obviously stresses on the incipient marriage that Jonathan has not revealed.

In another area of Manhattan, at Vanity Fair, Liz (Isabella Rosselini) taps reporter Peter (John Light) to do a story on a famous and gifted photographer known for bedding his nude male models. Peter is to interview each of the models for the story, and one of those models happens to be Jonathan! The entire group comes together at Diana's party and there the secrets of each of the characters gradually surface in coincidental ways and the story of how each of these interesting but tainted people respond to discoveries makes for the resolution of the story. Director Terrio uses finely honed techniques to slowly introduce each character, adding layers of information gradually, until the magnitude of these coincidences becomes dramatically tense and fascinating. This film is like standing in a darkroom watching a photograph slowly develop, revealing more of the details with each washing, until the final picture is filled with extraordinary details - some expected, others not. The cast is wholly superb and the degree of ensemble acting surpasses that of films of the recent past. If there is a criticism of the film it is a minor one: the ambient sound and musical scoring at times cover the dialog which make us strain to hear the whispered interchanges. But this is a brilliant film that immediately assumes a role in the pantheon of fine cinematic art. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

What I like about this film is that it moves like a panther. I feel like I'm outside of it but close enough to smell it. There is lots of intimacy and wonderful performances by everyone, some of which weren't fully comprehensible until the end. Glenn Close is an amazing person to watch doing anything and it was a double treat to see her, in dark hair no less (which I loved), playing an actress going in and out of character all of the time. Elizabeth Banks grew on me - at first, I just wished it were Parker Posey (whom she reminded me of at first). But, as the film developed and I could get over that resemblance, I enjoyed her performance. Jesse Bradford, who has been showing up in a lot of interesting roles the past few years, was notable as always. I liked George Segal as the rabbi without a clue until his being exactly where and what he needed to be when it really counted. Another thing about the film overall which I really liked was that the gay, straight, and everyone in between characters were all so much more real than they usually are in film. They were all over the map and that's where we all are in real life so it was a pleasure to see that. There were nuances on top of nuances and that, too, is what most of us experience but rarely see on film. James Marsden was great as Jonathan from the beginning to the end. I really liked Rufus Wainwright's character Jeremy... reminded me of a good friend of mine. There are too many good moments in the film to list them all.

I truly enjoyed this film. I had heard so much about it online and from friends, so I finally watched it the other night. I was very impressed. It's so nice to see Glenn Close back in the limelight this past year. She is one of the best. Ms. Close was also the perfect actor to play the role of Diana Lee. She brought veracity, desperation, and charm to a character that may have otherwise been easily disliked. Desperation can be a truly likable quality in a film's character. Each one of the characters in this story had a quiet desperation about them. Desperation and denial. Key aspects of all human lives. I challenge anyone to tell me these were not realistic characters. The story itself or the situations they were put into, maybe not. You have a famed actress who has everything except a stable relationship with her husband, a struggling photo journalist slowly realizing her life isn't a perfect as it seems, a youthful lawyer seeking the perfect way to forget himself, and a young actor needing more than just a steady gig onstage. I highly recommend this film. You'll come away feeling something, and that is the most important thing.