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Theatrical Thursday- In The Heights Movie Review


Hi! In The Heights is a new movie musical that came out recently. I wanted to write my thoughts into a review so you could all know what I thought. For some background, I enjoy the musical In The Heights, and I saw it once on Broadway. I enjoy the characters and the story, so my expectations going into this were high. This film exceeded my expectations and I really loved this movie.  This is my favorite movie musical in the last decade. I would rate this movie 5 stars but would give more. Read on to see my thoughts on the film. See the film in theaters or on HBO Max! 

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Characters

In The Heights is a story that tells the story of Washington Heights. The characters are the heartbeat of the story, and they were excellently crafted on screen. I love In The Heights because of the characters, and while I do have favorites, I love a lot of the characters. Going in, I was worried about how the story would adapt because the characters are originally from a stage musical, so was hesitant as to how they would transfer to the screen. Within the first number of the movie, they put all the doubts I had out of my mind. A movie musical is about the balance of all the elements and at no moment here did I think the characters of the movie felt like they were outshining the other elements.  


Plot

A story that follows the lives of a neighborhood can be tough because it can read as boring. Part of the heart and charm of this movie is the story of for me. This is a story about family and the friends that you treat as found family. There are several subplots woven into the major story, and I thought the movie did an excellent job of weaving all the stories into the film. My favorite storyline is the one that follows my favorite character Nina because both in the stage musical, and the movie, Nina goes on a journey and I loved seeing how that was portrayed on film. While her story might be updated and changed a bit, I believe the essence of story and her character is still the same. I also love the main storyline with Usnavi and Vanessa and seeing their romance.   

 

Cinematography

I thought I would give this star in my review because I loved the cinematography and the direction. Jon M. Chu, who directed Crazy Ritch Asians, was the director of this movie as well. I loved all the directorial choices, and I thought that he definitely put his stamp on the movie, without taking away from what the original story was. The group numbers were big and bright, and part of that was because of the cinematography. Smaller numbers were more intimate and played a big role in the storytelling. Again this was all thanks to the expert cinematography.  

Performances

I’m going to keep this section short because I loved all the performances. I thought the actors were fantastic, and they sang the music expertly. A movie likes on the actors to tell the story, and this story was told fantastically by the actors' performances.

Enjoyment  

I enjoyed this story so much that there was no way I would not give an enjoyment star in my review. All the elements combined for a great movie that I loved and would see again and again.

Dislikes

I had one element that I didn’t like about this film. In the stage musical, Nina’s mom Camila is present. I know why the choice to not have her in the movie was made but I still think she could have been in the movie.  

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