Heights (2005)

Wonderful character development!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Diana (Glenn Close) teaches acting and a renown theatrical director. Her daughter Isabel (Elizabeth Banks) is a wedding photographer. She's getting married to lawyer Jonathan (James Marsden). She encounters an ex Mark who suggests a compelling oversea job. Peter is assigned to contact art photographer Benjamin's exes for an exhibit. Joanathan is one of those in his pictures. Alec (Jesse Bradford) auditions for Diana.Chris Terrio tries directing. It's not visually exciting. There is a nice interconnection to the stories. Glenn Close is a powerful presence. The stories play out nicely but it does need more intensity.

Heights (2004)An interwoven series of stories, with a stellar performance by Glenn Close as a Broadway actress (and aggressive cougar) and a steady convincing performance by Elizabeth Banks as her daughter struggling for her own path. A third thread is multi-faceted, and a bit facile, but its important, too. That is, a man is engaged to this daughter but he seems to have had—or might still have— feelings for men.If the improbabilities of coincidence seem to much (as they do to some in "Crash" or in half of Shakespeare) then this won't hold water after awhile. But as a tightly controlled piece that has characters interacting on several planes, as a theater kind of piece made for film, it's really good. It helps a lot that the acting is intensely right without being overcooked. And the direction, but the director, Christ Terrio, brings his literary background (and limited Hollywood experience) to bear very well. It's become a commonplace to film in New York with all its new upper working class charms. But that's part of the appeal to the film. There are glimpses of the theater, some rooftop views, and so on. And lots of "regular" New Yorkers, people striving for relationship and career success. Which is what we all are going through at one point or another. And really, that's where the pleasure lies, so give it a go. A good one.

What a fine, talented cast we have here, with Glen Close and James Marsden heading the list. What high artistic efforts are made at every level, from scene to scene.What's so strange about all this is that the film as a whole is much less successful than its parts. In the end, there's little real feeling for any particular character. The hop and skip format doesn't seem to yield a satisfactory entry into any one character's situation.However, there's a real authentic look and feel to the inner circles of the Broadway world. We're provided a candid backstage view of intimate relationships, both personal and professional. Also New York City has been intimately captured as a background for this multi-character story.With this work we also say goodbye to the Merchant Ivory team, as Mr. Merchant passed away. A wonderful partnership that produced many great cinematic artworks.

I truly enjoyed this film. I had heard so much about it online and from friends, so I finally watched it the other night. I was very impressed. It's so nice to see Glenn Close back in the limelight this past year. She is one of the best. Ms. Close was also the perfect actor to play the role of Diana Lee. She brought veracity, desperation, and charm to a character that may have otherwise been easily disliked. Desperation can be a truly likable quality in a film's character. Each one of the characters in this story had a quiet desperation about them. Desperation and denial. Key aspects of all human lives. I challenge anyone to tell me these were not realistic characters. The story itself or the situations they were put into, maybe not. You have a famed actress who has everything except a stable relationship with her husband, a struggling photo journalist slowly realizing her life isn't a perfect as it seems, a youthful lawyer seeking the perfect way to forget himself, and a young actor needing more than just a steady gig onstage. I highly recommend this film. You'll come away feeling something, and that is the most important thing.