‘In the Heights’ Review

In the Heights is the Broadway musical that woke everyone up to Lin-Manuel Miranda. It featured the hip-hop musical style that felt unique to the Broadway stage, which Miranda would later perfect in Hamilton. It garnered lots of praise including winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. However, it seems to have flown under many people’s radars, especially in comparison to the popularity of Hamilton. This film adaptation really shows that In the Heights deserves more attention. 

Premise

Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) owns a small bodega in Washington Heights, a bustling borough filled with a tight-knit community lavished in Latino heritage. Each member of the community has their own dreams of the future, but also must deal with the difficulties of life in New York City amidst emerging gentrification. Usnavi urges to move back to the Dominican Republic but struggles with the move in terms of his finances and his identity. 

Review

In the Heights doesn’t have much of the main narrative. There is no villain or central conflict. It focuses on a group of characters who all have their own goals along with the relationships they have with each other and the community. Each character has their own different journey and it is interesting to follow. Every character will have their own song or monologue that allows you to get in their head. 

Usnavi serves as the main character and we get a better understanding of how Washington Heights works through his character. In fact, the first song is basically set up for who everyone is and the life of this community. Ramos is awesome in the role, especially in the way he delivers a lot of the rapping. It’s clear he has a deep passion for this community but also wants to connect with his roots in the Dominican Republic. 

Melissa Barrera and Leslie Grace play the two female leads and they both should become stars after this. Both bring their characters to life and have fantastic voices. Barrera plays a more pessimistic character. She is trying to become a fashion designer while dealing with a lot of the financial difficulties of New York. Grace plays Nina Rosario who returns home after going to college and Grace does a great job at showing the identity crisis her character is going through. 

Corey Hawkins and Gregory Diaz IV are also great in their roles as supporting characters. Hawkins and Grace’s relationship is one of the strongest elements in the film. I also really became attached to Abuela Claudia played by Olga Merediz. Merediz is reprising her role from the stage and is such a delight as the matriarch of this community. 

Most importantly, the music is great. It’s upbeat and easy to become lost in once a song starts going. The choreography is phenomenal along with the singing and rapping. Director Jon M. Chu does a fantastic job at capturing great dance sequences in unique environments. There are moments where characters break into song and dance, but it never feels ridiculous. 

Chu also does a great job at having the songs move the plot further. They all reveal how the characters are feeling through their facial expressions and movement. Chu understands that Washington Heights is a character itself and uses the city in every way he can. 

However, the soundtrack does lack that one big song. There wasn’t one distinct song that I found myself wanting to go back to. The songs may contain too much rapping which sounds weird but it makes the songs lack a catchy hook. For example, Hamilton still had songs that had structure, with catchy choruses that got stuck in your head. There are catchy moments in songs, but the songs themselves can often go on for too long. 

Unlike Hamilton, In the Heights isn’t constant rapping and singing, which is good as it allows us to have more serious moments between characters. However, there are times where a song starts up immediately after another one ends and it can feel exhausting. 

Final verdict

In the Heights is one of the strongest movies of 2021. The joy felt in this movie is intoxicating and everyone in the cast brings their A-game. The only problem I had is that the soundtrack isn’t as infectious as I wanted it to be and the story can sometimes lose its pacing. However, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the choreography, music, and passion. The dedication to Latino heritage is very infectious and I loved seeing how close the community is to one another. In the Heights is a definite must-watch this summer.