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by Jim Pappas Published: June 15, 2005
 Jonathan (James Marsden) tells his fiancee, Isabel (Elizabeth Banks), that he’s out of cigarettes in “Heights.” The production group known as Merchant Ivory (this review is dedicated to the late Ismail Merchant, who passed away on May 25th) have made many films over the past almost 40 years, but they’ve gained their impressive reputation mostly from period pieces like “Howards End” and “The Remains of the Day.” Their new film, “Heights” is set in New York City (filmed there in its entirety) in the present day, post 9/11, and the entire story takes place during one single 24 hour period. This is a bit of a departure from their storied past, but the Merchant Ivory touch is still present, which means this film is a good one. Every one of us face critical junctures in our lives, where decisions are required and the results of those decisions shape our destinies. In “Heights” we are introduced to several members of the New York art scene, including a Grand Dame of the theater, Diana Lee (played with delicious flamboyance by Glenn Close), her daughter Isabel (Elizabeth Banks), Isabel’s fiancee, Jonathan (James Marsden) and several other people whose lives ultimately intersect one another’s. These people all have to make some important choices in their lives on this one single day, and their decisions will effect each other as well. For example, Isabel meets an old flame, Mark (Matt Davis) who has a job offer from Time magazine that would be a huge break for her career, given that she was dismissed from her photography job earlier in the day. Her decision to either take or reject the job would impact her fiancee because the two were to be married in 2 weeks, and the Time job would mean she would have to go to Europe for about 30 days, before the wedding. This would either postpone or cancel the wedding altogether. Diana, too, is forced to examine her own life on this day, as it becomes apparent to her that her husband’s affair with an understudy is getting serious, and she cannot just slough it off as a peccadillo. She must consider that her marriage is coming to its end, and whether or not she should fight to save it or give it up as a lost cause. Another character in the film, a young actor named Alec (Jesse Bradford) auditions for Diana and has the opportunity because of it to move from the fringe theater where he dwells into the mainstream of Broadway. He must either accept the responsibilities that come with potential greatness, or stay in his safe and snug little world. As we find out later, there is more involved than any fear of success on his part, there are secrets that he is keeping, secrets that have an impact on the lives of Diana, Isabel and Jonathan, surprisingly. Jonathan himself has a major secret he has hidden from Isabel, one that involves a world famous photographer whose new show in New York would reveal that not only was Jonathan one of the nude models whose pictures are part of the display, but that he also had a homosexual affair with the photographer. Jonathan tries to do the wise thing by consulting the Rabbi Mendel (George Segal), who is to perform his and Isabel’s wedding, but after Rabbi Mendel urges Jonathan to come clean, Jonathan is faced with his own important choice. “Heights” (I have no idea why this film has that name) is rich in character, despite the inherent shallowness of people involved in the artistic world, and once we get past the prejudices we can find ourselves both sympathizing and commiserating with the people we meet in the film. There is sadness and there is joy in discovery, and there is freedom once your decision has been made and you begin your journey along your chosen path. I think that is the lesson in “Heights,” not that it hurts to leave some things behind, but that once you’ve made up your mind you can discard as useless baggage those things holding you in place. Life is about growth, and sometimes growing can be painful. In the end, though, if you don’t choose to grow you end up withering on the vine. Everyone in “Heights” doesn’t choose to move on with their lives, but you can see that those who do are happier than those that do not. Special mention should be made of the direction by Chris Terrio. He does a masterful job of keeping his actors focused on the task at hand and never lets anything drag or move too slowly. He has a bright future ahead of him. It should also be stated that “Heights” was written by Amy Fox (from her play), with additional writing by Chris Terrio. They do a terrific job with the dialogue and each scene has its own resonance. Not everything is as it appears to be on the surface here, and the surprises at the end are truly just that. “Heights” opens in New York and Los Angeles on June 17th. Overall Rating: A |
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