In The Heights: Everything you need to know about the hit musical

Released in the US last weekend, the In The Heights film did not get off to the best start.

The film, adapted from the hit Broadway musical under performed at the box office. It only took $11m (£7.8m), half the amount of gross income expected. The film also faced a colourism row following complaints from many viewers about the lack of Afro-Latino actors. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda later apologised for this.

The film has not had the easiest of rides, even before these recent difficulties it had obstacles to overcome. The project was previously attached to the now disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein. In addition, the release of the film was delayed a year due to the pandemic and Covid restrictions closing cinemas.

It is not all doom and gloom though, as many aspects of the film received wide praise. Critics describe it as hugely enjoyable. They praise the way it brings an under-represented community and musical genre to a mainstream audience, which is a rarity in Hollywood.

Kickstarting Miranda’s career

Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote In The Heights two decades ago, when he was a 19 year old university student. First staged in 2005, starring himself in the leading role, it was his first full-length musical. In The Heights kicked off his career, but his biggest success so far is creating Hamilton. Miranda has a varied career as an actor in films, such as Mary Poppins Returns, and he makes his directorial debut with the forthcoming Tick Tick Boom.

Set in the Latino community of Washington Heights, the film follows a large cast of local characters. They all share their life stories and dreams for the future via catchy musical numbers, mixing Latin rhythms with energetic dance routines.

Miranda wanted to write new roles for Latino actors, using his own neighbourhood as inspiration. He was keen to include lots of different music, like he often heard in his area – salsa, merengue, hip-hop. He says that “Washington Heights in the summer is the loudest, most colourful place on earth, so I wanted you to feel that way when you saw our show”.

A trend for musicals

In The Heights is just one of a number of movie musicals coming out this year. Others include Cinderella, West Side Story, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Dear Evan Hansen and Tick Tick Boom.

Released only a month following reopening of cinemas in the UK, In The Heights is the first of this year’s big screen musical adaptations. The film, unlike many others affected by the pandemic, did not jump straight to a streaming service during lockdown. To get the best out of the all-singing-all-dancing musical it needs viewing on the big screen.

Lead character Usnavi is played by Anthony Ramos, is the owner of a local bodega which sells a winning lottery ticket in early scenes. That event underpins the narrative, although this is not really a plot-driven musical. It rather feels more like a collection of individual mini-stories told by the sizeable cast and their respective songs. Ramos says, “This movie is about people and a community that keeps going no matter what” gets thrown at them.

The type of songs vary, with many simply rapped or sung lines of dialogue (a Miranda trademark) delivered at speed. Others, like Carnaval Del Barrio, are a lot more catchy and memorable enough to get stuck in your head for days.

Adapting In The Heights to screen

Writer of the book for both the stage and screen adaptation, Quiara Alegría Hudes, says adapting a theatre production for cinema has certain freedoms. It gives the opportunity to juxtapose intimate moments in musical numbers, for example a whispered conversation. She says it is “the opportunity to get really big but also really up close and personal”.

Films do not have the same restraints and confinement to the stage. This means they provide the opportunity to make things more ambitious. There is the advantage of real life locations and real backdrops. Although nothing could replicate the magic of a live performance.

Shooting of In The Heights took place in summer 2019, in the uppermost borough of Manhattan.

Director Jon M Chu, responsible for two Step Up movies and Crazy Rich Asians, says working on In The Heights “was stressful as hell”. There was difficulty in finding the right cast. They needed people who could speak all the languages, and could do acting, dialogue, movement and music. They needed to do all that and “express it not as a performance, but with truthfulness”.

Alongside Ramos, the impressive cast also includes Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Jimmy Smits and Lin-Manuel Miranda in a supporting role.

Critics reviews

Initial reviews of the film are positive. However, some critics say the film represented a somewhat sanitised version of an often rough neighbourhood. It showed plenty of vibrancy and charm, but a lack of plausibility. The glossy Hollywood musical needed more grit for a more realistic depiction of street life. The music is pleasurable and inspired, but as a whole the interwoven stories feel dramatically thin and overstretched.

On the plus side, the film has a strong opening sequence. The first 15 minutes feature Usnavi introducing the principal characters one by one, ending with hundreds of locals dancing in the streets. Unfortunately, the quality and momentum cannot sustain throughout the film’s 2hr 23min run-time, and could have benefitted from some editing.

However, at its best, the film is unparalleled, and really excels when the talented cast come together for group numbers.

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