By Lexi Feinberg Jun 16, 2005, 14:09 GMT
New York City is populated by millions of people, but at any given moment you’re bound to run into someone you know, or more likely, someone who has seen you naked. Heights takes place in the bewildering city, exploring the lives of Manhattanites that just can’t seem to muster up the energy to smile. Isabel (Elizabeth Banks), a promising photographer, declines dream job offers in order to plan her wedding to handsome but rigid attorney Jonathan (James Marsden). Something crucial is missing from their relationship, and her overbearing mother Diana (Glenn Close) tries incessantly to break them up, wounded from her own flailing marriage. Despite being an Oscar-winning legendary actress that can effortlessly command an audience’s attention, she can’t get her own husband to notice her, as his focus shifts to another actress.
A struggling, soulful, doe-eyed actor named Alec (Jesse Bradford), sporting a shiny green jacket, auditions for a play that Diana is directing in hopes of furthering his career. She unapologetically flings herself at him like a jumper from a ledge, but he quickly dismisses her advances due to complete lack of interest. Meanwhile, Peter (John Light) is writing an article for Vanity Fair about his playboy photographer boyfriend, who seems to have bedded the entire island of Manhattan, minus the females.
Essentially, all of the characters are actors, carrying out facades that they hope to persuade others into believing. The problem is that I never bought any of them myself. Jonathan is harboring a secret that is easily recognizable within the first third of the movie, and it gets tiresome waiting for everyone else to wake up and realize it. But the actors try their best to turn in good performances, and they do what they can with their limited material. Marsden delivers his best performance to date, showing that he has more than one facial expression; he has two. Close turns in another powerhouse performance in a movie undeserving of her efforts.
There is a great movie in here somewhere just waiting to burst out, but director Chris Terrio never fully tracks it down. It’s a shame too, because there are several moments of depth and humor buried beneath the pretense. Heights may not soar to its desired levels, but it’s riddled with beautiful people behaving badly. If you’re as shallow as the characters in the movie, that should be enough of a selling point.
You can access media from the film in our database and view photos from the premiere on this page.
Copyright 2005 by CinemaBlend.com
Your Talkback on this Story