In the Heights
Short description
In the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York, near the 181st Street subway stop, the local bodega owner Usnavi runs his small store while imagining a return to the Dominican Republic, the place he comes from. Around him, neighbors go about their days and share their own hopes, and a winning lottery ticket stirs excitement across the community. Usnavi's plans grow more complicated as he becomes close to Vanessa, who wants to build a career in fashion, while other residents of the block face their own decisions about staying or leaving.
The film adapts Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical, with a screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes and direction by Jon M. Chu. It was the tenth of thirteen features Chu has directed in chronological order, coming after Crazy Rich Asians and before Wicked. Anthony Ramos plays Usnavi, with Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz and Daphne Rubin-Vega among the large cast of forty-two credited performers, supported by a crew of 145. Miranda also produced.
Released in June 2021, the film runs 143 minutes. Made for about 55 million dollars, it took in roughly 45 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 7.2 rating from some 56,000 votes, and on TMDB a 7.1 from around 818 votes. A critics' rating of 8.2 from 372 reviews places it noticeably above those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The photographs held by Anthony Ramos's character are actual photographs of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria's impact on Puerto Rico in 2017.
- Washington Heights is the actual name of a neighborhood in Washington in the northern part of the city.
- While Kevin waits for a response, the melody from "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2020 musical, can be heard in the phone receiver.
- Mark Anthony's character was created specifically for the film. Anthony was a big fan of the musical and had seen it many times. Lin-Manuel Miranda saw Anthony in the musical *The Capeman* with music by Paul Simon, offered him the role, and Anthony happily accepted. When he first arrived on set to discuss the role with director Chu, he was met by so many fans and paparazzi that the meeting had to be held inside the limousine.
- Filming of the musical coincided with Steven Spielberg's remake of the 1961 drama *West Side Story*, directed by Robert Wise (1914-2005) and Jerome Robbins (1918-1998). Filming locations were often nearby. According to director Jon M. Chu, they frequently saw a catering truck heading to Spielberg’s set with food for the cast and crew. And once, Miranda secretly went to Spielberg’s set to watch the filming of the musical number “Maria”.
- Jimmy Smith was a fan of this story even before it conquered Broadway, and before it was adapted for the screen. When asked to participate in recording a promotional script for television, he even refused a fee and requested several tickets to the Broadway show.
- The pool scene was scheduled to be filmed in two days, but due to the weather, it took three days. The delay was caused by a thunderstorm front, as the scene was supposed to take place on the hottest day of the year. At times, all the actors were ordered to get out of the pool because it was simply dangerous to stay there.
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