High Art : Retratos Sublimes

After the trash of the past twenty or so years -- titles withheld to protect the incompetent -- someone finally makes a movie with a lesbian love angle that not only works, but shines. An exquisite performance by Ally Sheedy highlights this haunting study of a woman and the culture which ensnares her. A solid plot, likable -- if not perfect -- characters give flesh and blood to this dark character study. Added kudos to Patricia Clarkson; she took a character who tread the fine line between sympathetic and just plain pathetic and made Greta a complex, but not confusing nor inconsistent, woman. Well done, all around!

I am always on the lookout for good lesbian movies with good acting and they are very hard to find. High Art fills both criteria, but every time I watch this movie I feel depressed. I don't know why, especially since I don't mind "dark" movies in the least. The relationships between the characters just feel empty to me. And, I never quite know what to make of the heretofore straight girl who falls for the gay girl. It must be said that the acting is quite good, especially Patricia Clarkson as the drugged out girlfriend of Ally Sheedy. Sheedy is also fantastic as the burned out photographer Lucy Berliner. I just didn't relate to any of these characters or to their relationships with each other, and in the end did not really care who lived or died.

It seemed like Ally Sheedy hadn't done much since "The Breakfast Club" when she starred in "High Art", and she does a pretty good job here as photographer Lucy Berliner, who becomes involved with neighbor Syd (Radha Mitchell), and they both start reevaluating their lives.

I'll admit that this isn't the ultimate masterpiece or anything, but it is worth seeing as a look into the art world. These sorts of movies just go to show why indie flicks are more interesting than anything that Hollywood can conceive. Lisa Cholodenko followed it up with the perplexing, but also worth seeing, "Laurel Canyon". Also starring Patricia Clarkson and Tammy Grimes.

In 'the age of indies', where we currently find ourselves, a common technique is to heavy hand the viewer, scaring him with the harsh realities of some off-beat lifestyle.

And all those possibilities exist in High Art, where the real grunge of lower Manhattan is briefly exposed, yet here, the filmmaker chooses to seduce us with it, rather than hit us over the head.

Ally Sheedy does a good job as druggie social misfit, Lucy Berliner. Lucy's been able to lead a life devoid of any traditional responsibility, choosing instead to hang out with a sub-culture of drug motivated homosexual and asexual miscreants, where days and years pass by faster than a paper calendar unfurling in a Frank Capra movie.

That she might jump start a promising career as a photographer under the bright-eyed prodding of young Syd (Radha Mitchell) is not surprising, it's a familiar refrain. And that Lucy seduces Syd is also predictable.

Where the movie does surprise is the relaxed way in which it delivers it's message, and, although Sheedy and Mitchell are both very good, for my money the movie is damn near stolen by Patricia Clarkson, who is brilliant in every scene she plays. If you remember her as Ted Hoffman's caring, intelligent wife in year one of 'Murder One' you'll really appreciate what a marvelous actress she is.

I came in expecting to dislike the movie, and left quite pleased. I definitely recommend.

None of the characters in this film are the stereotypes you might expect, and a few of the performances are simply magnificent. Patricia Clarkson in particular probably won't be an Oscar contender, but certainly should be. The two leads are also played to perfection, and I enjoyed the film far more than I had anticipated. Definitely should not have been relegated to the art-house circuit.