In The Heights Review

In The Heights is a feel good musical based on a Latino community in Washington Heights. But did it soar to new heights in the box office? Find out in this In The Heights Review.

Cast and Creatives:

This musical was created by some of the biggest Hollywood and Musical Theatre names in the industry. With Lyrics and musical score by Lin Manuel Miranda, direction from Jon Chu and adaption by the author himself Quiara Alegria Hudes.

Anthony Ramos stars as the lead, Usnavi. Anthony carried a lot of the acting, his story telling was outstanding and elevated the performance of those around him. Playing Benny was Corey Hawkins, Corey also gave a great performance and was believable in his role. The overall acting level was high and we understood the story but Anthony and Corey sold me the vision.

The Film Production:

Creatively I felt that some areas shone while others caused confusion. The choreography by Christopher Scott was fascinating! The choreography included clever details, integrated dance and synchronized swimming maneuvers, along with feel good routines that wanted to make you get up and join in! Musically the score was great, really intelligently put together and an interesting way to tell the story. Alike Hamilton, Lin’s other well-known work, the story was told through clever and exciting musical arrangements. However, several songs served no purpose to the story and could have been cut. The direction was to a high level, Jon’s work is always exemplary and In The Heights was no exception.

At random points throughout the duration of the film, graphics were put in. The graphics were inserted to create more of a visual picture and understanding for the audience, however this did the exact opposite. The graphics made it feel like an actor had broken character, it became disjointed, unnecessary and I stopped believing the story. In addition towards the end of the film, unnecessary edits were put in. Actors began dancing on the sides of buildings, walking up walls, tap dancing on people’s windows while running up the outside of the vertical building. While I applaud these graphics, I did not feel they were well-placed in this film. The cinematography would have been perfect for Spiderman, but here, the choreography would have been enough!

Overview:

Overall I felt the movie was enjoyable. Had it not been for the graphics taking me out of the story line and the additional unrequired content, the movie would have been a lot more enjoyable. The film was 2hrs 30mins and I felt like 1hr 50mins would have been more appropriate. With some great highs and then if prepared for some random moments, I think it is a good watch for musical theatre fans.

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