An intense day in New York
Added 3/12/2009
I had never heard of this film but it was recommended to me by my on-line DVD service based on what I rented, so I thought I'd give it a go. And I am glad I did.
Following one day in the life of a number of people in New York, Diana and her daughter Isabel in particular [everyone else is linked to them], while the plot is nothing too unusual, the performances by all are simply so superb and heartfelt [showing forth and recalling the passion Diana demanded of her acting class at the beginning], that I was hooked. By the end, I had been taken on a most exciting adventure, and was sad to see that it ended -- I could've kept watching. But then there is something to be said to leaving the future to the imagination.
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Another script about being actors, ugh ....
Added 12/9/2008
This is another movie containing a subplot about actors and theater etc, with the usual scenes within scenes. One of my pet peeves because writers seem to think acting and movies etc are so fascinating that they make cinematic material. Um, not really. But the film is actually ok, just not as intriguing as you might assume, given the many personal entanglements. The problem is they don't even begin to make sense until at least halfway in, and you might lose patience before then.
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Maybe Three Stars
Added 8/11/2008
While it was happening, I enjoyed it, though I continued to be mystified by the extreme star status of Diana Lee, the theater director played by Glenn Close, and also the similarly stellar nude photographer Benjamin Stone. How did either of these two get so famous? They treat Diana as though she were Lee Strasberg and Spielberg put together. And Benjamin Stone is presented as some super great Rauschenberg type artist, when the evidence shows he's nothing more than a Herb Ritts. Half the dialogue in the movie is either, "You mean, THE Diana Lee?" or "THE Benjamin Stone," and if I took a drink every time a character said one of these two lines I'd still be drunk three years later. Oh well, the impossible thing to believe is the assignment Isabella Rossellini gives the English schmo about writing the Vanity Fair article and exposing Benjamin Stone's past love affairs.
Peter looks pained every time he meets another of Stone's ex lovers, as though he had never known anything about them, and yet he is supposed to have been a) writing Stone's biography and b) "dating" Stone himself. And Stone is famous for sleeping with his models, as all the other characters and even their pets know, so why is Peter, his boyfriend, so surprised and anguished?
The movie takes place in 24 hours, right? And in that time we see Isabella Rossellini give the assignment, and then a montage of Peter interviewing a dozen or so men. How'd he line up all those interviews in one convenient day, it's ludicrous. And is Rufus Wainwright supposed to be attracted to him? Okay, maybe.
I liked Elizabeth Banks but thought she was pretty vicious at the end. Why so harsh, Isabel? It's not like you don't have a way out. The thing about being torn between two lovers is that you always have a fallback position, so I never got too sorry for any of the characters, especially not THE Diana Lee, crying on top of her three million dollar penthouse roof. Give me a break, Merchant Ivory! And yet at the same time the film is well done to a certain extent and one can never have enough Jesse Bradford or James Marsden, so everyone's a winner.
Merchant Ivory is known for eclectic casting and everyone wants to be in one of their films, but is that why we see Thomas Lennon in this one (as well as in LE DIVORCE)? He comes on screen and everyone in the audience breaks the mood by wondering, isn't that the guy in the hot pants in RENO 911? (Disguised, like Glenn Close, with dramatic dark hair.) (Like Madonna in the video for "Rain.")
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Urban Secrets and Lies
Added 5/19/2008
"Heights"
Urban Secrets and Lies
Amos Lassen
"Heights" follows the lives of five characters on a full day in autumn in New York City. Isabel is a photographer who is in the quandary of having second thoughts about her upcoming marriage to a lawyer by the name of Jonathan. On the very same day, Isabel's mother discovers that her husband has a new lover and she begins to have new thoughts about the choices she has made and the open marriage she is living in. The new women, Isabel and her mother, Diana come into contact with a young actor, Alec and Peter, a young journalist. As the plot continues the connections between the five characters are shown as each lets us into his life and they all must choose the kind of lives they want to live before daybreak the next day.
The movie explores the ennui and boredom of modern urban life and those emotional earthquakes that disrupt the lives of our characters. Deception and secrecy seem to be the roots of the troubles of the characters. Jonathan seems to be suffering the most--he is Jewish and his fiancée is not and she refuses to go see the rabbi before the wedding. The two just do not see eye to eye. Diana, Isabel's mother, is a famous and admired actress and has an eye for young handsome men. When Alec auditions for a part in her new play, it is clear she likes him and not for his acting ability alone.
"Heights" is a film that succeeds because the story, the actors, the writing and the cast are all just fine--brilliant, in fact. The cast could not be better--Glenn Close, Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden. George Segal, Isabella Rosselini, John Light all turn in excellent performances.
At its most basic the movie explores desires and the situations of the characters are held together by a character, a photogtapher, Benjamin Stone, who is never seen in the movie. His lover, Peter, tracks down models for an upcoming show and former models (who perhaps were also his lovers) so he can complete his memoirs. This is what ties the characters together. This is a powerful film even though the ending is somewhat of a downer because of the exposure of the characters earlier. It is a fine movie and a great character study.
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Classic New York Story
Added 9/26/2007
It would be hard to add much to the well-presented reviews that have already been registered here over the past two years. Nevertheless, because of the inescapable "wow factor" of the film, I feel impelled to toss in -- damn, what a fine piece of work. Entertaining in every way. Wonderful writing--the reader comes to care about and appreciate all of the characters in the piece. Great, attractive cast with consistently smart acting. And, unusual for a film that involves gay people, there was depth and dimension to their characters and lives. The story could only have been set in New York--or so this non-New Yorker imagines--but it does present a credible backdrop of sophistication that probably isn't matched in many other parts of the U.S.
Wonderful film which I wish I had heard about a lot sooner.
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