Heights

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.

HEIGHTS ***** A cross between 'Playing By Heart' and 'The Ice Storm', 'Heights' is a ferociously clever montage of character triumph and fumble, played within an aura of amorality and dark secrecy. Callaborators Chris Turrio and Amy Fox seem to have the simple intention of penetrating an interplay of character dynamic to the audience, making sense and importance out of each scene, and reaching a faithful finale. The film's quasi-surreal blend of musical score (Ben Butler, Martin Erskine) and direction (Turrio) makes the story seem more complicated than it really is because, in truth, the viewer can relate to its societal or interpersonal issues in a degree. The story presents a search one takes in finding something more fulfilling when life has either grown weary or boring. The densely layered characters all have this hunger, with modulated performances that govern the transition between normal thinking and obscure behavior amid their struggles. Within the famous theater actress (Glenn Close), who has skill and a passion for her work, we sense delicate vulnerability due to an impacting marital issue she's facing. Her daughter (Elizabeth Banks) has troubles of her own: Finessing her decisions between the welfare of others and meeting her own needs, particularly in terms of whether to marry a burdened attorney (James Marsden). I don't believe it's a film to take lightly, but it's definitely a rewarding viewing, with accolades deserved by all involved.

Heights is an independent film starring Glenn Close & featuring Up & coming actors from TV & film, Many of who I did not recognize.

We follow a small group of people for one full day,In one way or another they are all connected.

This is an intelligent well written script, very well acted, You (I at least) had a feeling that either I know or would like to know each member of the cast.

There are all sorts of relationships here,including very well handled gay ones.

Being an independent film with no special effects, it did not play in too many theatres. This is one of the tragedies of current film distribution. I saw it on cable TV, . It is available for rent.

I highly recommend this film. You will not be disappointed.

Rating ***1/2 out of 4, 92 points out of 10, IMDb 9 out of 10.

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.

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.