For the past year, musical theater fans have been waiting, with patience and faith as Abuela might say, for the release of In the Heights. The film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's pre-Hamilton Broadway hit was supposed to premiere June 26, 2020, but was delayed due to COVID-19. While the response probably wouldn't have been dramatically different either way, it's easier to appreciate In the Heights now. After 16 months of shared fears, frustrations and disappointments during which time Broadway went dark, Miranda's modest and earnest but relentlessly joyful and hopeful tale feels relevant in a new and unexpected way. In the Heights isn't a perfect or even a particularly well thought out adaptation of a musical, but it is a great summer movie nonetheless, and one that's especially appropriate for the summer of 2021.
While the filmed production of Hamilton that lives on Disney+ is as close to seeing the original cast as one can get for $7.99, the film of In the Heights is most definitely its own thing. Director Jon M. Chu, best known for Crazy Rich Asians, makes some choices that improve upon the source material and some that seem to lose the thread. For most of Hollywood history, movie musicals like The Sound of Music and West Side Story were remade fairly straightforwardly (and usually won loads of awards). In recent years, directors have tried to impose framing devices and other gimmicks upon them, to make the belting and fourth wall breaking more credible. Sometimes it works (Chicago), sometimes it doesn't (Cats). In the Heights halfheartedly attempts such a framing device, and unfortunately, the one it goes with is pretty cliché. Usnavi, the protagonist, starts and ends the film recounting its story to a bunch of impossibly attentive kids.
From there, things start to feel more familiar to anyone who's had the pleasure of seeing the stage production. Chu's films frequently feature dancing, and without the constraints of a proscenium, the choreography is free to be as exuberant and celebratory as is possible. Beautifully composed overhead shots make the totality of the movement easier to take in, while sweaty closeups make everything more human and tactile. That's a tough trick to pull off. So is retaining the sense of urgency and ever-increasing tension that theatrical audiences get from real time and space. In that respect, In the Heights is hit-and-miss.
The show has to stay put on its street corner, but the film has the liberty to explore the whole neighborhood, inside and out. Chu does admirable work bringing Usnavi's bodega, Daniela's salon and Abuela's apartment to life. There's a realism, and more importantly, an intimacy to those scenes that can't come through from the perspective of even a front row house seat. But In the Heights really sings and dances when it's taking over the block, the park or the swimming pool, with 500 enthusiastic extras to get the party started. Manuel's clearly very personal play is as much about time and place as it is about the people who live then and there, and the film does justice to that idea. It looks, sounds, tastes, smells and feels like summer in Washington Heights so specifically and intensely, you'll want to run out of the multiplex to turn on a hose, blast a radio and throw some ice in a blender.
It's also worth noting that while plays and movies about Black and Latinx communities existed before In the Heights, they didn't always ring authentic and their casts didn't always include the people they sought to represent. Some observers familiar with the film's titular neighborhood have expressed frustration that it still falls short, particularly in its lack of proportional Afro-Latinx representation. Still, the diversity and pride on display in In the Heights sets it apart from most of what's come before it, as does the depiction of working class families, which completely avoids exploitation. Broadly speaking, many people will recognize themselves in this more accessible version of Miranda's art, and in Anthony Ramos and company's performances, which are as tender as they are technically impressive. Olga Merediz as Abuela Claudia is the showstopper and will be a strong contender for supporting actress awards.
In the Heights falls short in its handling of the plot, which shouldn't be much of a surprise, since plot was never the musical's strong suit. The original -- which is ostensibly about what young kids in love are going to do with their lives, but is really about gentrification and the subtleties of racism -- was already a tad meandering yet overstuffed. The film, with its ability to focus its audience, could've tightened things up. It's certainly a revision with some major changes to the characters and events, but it's not a very bold or purposeful edit. Most of the tinkering only lessens the tension, lowers the stakes and slows the pace. In particular, the addition of a new subplot involving the potential deportation of Dreamers is well-intended but tacked on. Ultimately, In the Heights plays more like a really fantastic two-and-a-half-hour long music video that doesn't quite reach the heights it aspires to.
That's even more true because Miranda and Chu didn't seem to make hard and fast decisions about how realistic or impressionistic the final product should be. About half of the movie goes for naturalism, while the other half embraces the kind of magic that allows for gravity-defying dance numbers on the sides of high-rise buildings. But that's fine. The point of In the Heights isn't really to tell a story. The point is to remind us of our dignity, and the dignity of others, and to cherish the everyday people and things that give meaning to our lives. Whether you experience it in the comfort of your home on HBO Max, or in the comfort of an air conditioned theater with -- after all this time -- a crowd, it's the perfect way to start your summer and restart your optimism.