In the Heights (2021)
Directed by Jon M. Chu
The story of Usnavi, a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic or staying in Washington Heights.
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What critics compared In the Heights to
All the things I didn't like about the stage show vanished as I experienced the rousing, pulse-pounding, and hypnotic screen adaptation of "In the Heights," magnificently directed by Jon M. Chu ("Crazy Rich Asians"), who lovingly pays homage to a slew of movie musicals and slyly reinvents what the genre can do, raising the bar for future endeavors.
The editing is sharp and director Jon M Chu, who captured Singapore as a celebratory melting pot in Crazy Rich Asians , repeats the trick for New York, packing a tonne of warmth and summery vibes into every shot.
As far removed as a working-class barrio might be from ultra-rich Singapore, Chu tapped into similar elements of generational conflict and cultural confusion in his previous movie, “Crazy Rich Asians,” and showed a ready talent for squeezing those themes into deft, crowd-pleasing packages.
Translating hit musicals from stage-to-screen can be a challenging demand for the most talented filmmakers, but Chu (”Crazy Rich Asians“) seems relaxed and at ease; the titular opening number is a sprawling, epic ten-minute sequence within the Upper Manhattan, predominantly Latino community (that provided Miranda his inspiration) where everyone is crawling into the streets, spilling out of local shops, and, of course, busting a move.
Director Jon M. Chu ( Step Up , Crazy Rich Asians) smartly resists making every musical number in this nearly two-and-a-half-hour film a visual extravaganza.
The 2021 film version, helmed by Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu, is a triumphant adaptation, confidently reworking the stage show into a gorgeous, vibrant film that captures both the bigness of musical theater and the intimacy that comes with telling a story about a specific culture.
Make no mistake, this is a musical turned into a blockbuster, as Chu treats the wide shots of the dozens of background dancers with the same eye you could see Christopher Nolan apply to Tenet, or the Russo brothers apply to Endgame.