The question going into this review then is why didn't I write it when the film was still in theaters? Why didn't I write this when I actually watched the movie?
The answer to that question is complicated, and is also intricately intertwined with my feelings regarding the movie itself, which is why you're getting a review inside of my post to explain why I haven't reviewed In The Heights. Before I take a stab at explaining myself, I would like to acknowledge the one point of controversy surrounding this movie. Could it have been cast better in some instances? Absolutely. The representation for some of these roles was excellent, but other's weren't. So casting continues to be a persistent issue in Hollywood, even in the typically very mindful case of Lin-Manuel Miranda.
So the movie isn't perfect, especially considering representation was one of the big things it was trying to address. The issue with my acknowledging this fact falls inline with the reason I haven't reviewed the film to this point; I'm as pasty-white milquetoast as they come, and to my viewer's eye the representation was fine. I try to be cognizant of my biases but I didn't realize there were problems until reading more informed takes afterward.
So, why didn't I review the movie when I saw it? It had nothing at all to do with the quality. The film was excellent. The music, the performances, the way it was shot, set, and choreographed, all of that was top-notch. The character stories on display were all told very well and they intertwined in very real ways. In terms of quality this is easily one of the best musicals to release to theaters in decades. It makes The Greatest Showman look like it was written by amateurs.
No, the reason I didn't review it was because, by the end of the movie, I felt like I had been invited to experience a culture that was entirely new to me. I'd been given a window of intents, desires, and experiences that broadened my understanding in a way that made me feel genuinely enlightened. It was an emotionally intense experience, as real learning often is. But in the wake of that experience I realized that as much as I wanted to shout about my new-found understanding from the rooftops, I didn't really, you know... understand. I'd been given a window into a new way of living, I'd been cheerfully invited to look through it for a few hours, but during that time I couldn't possibly have been exposed to more than a tiny fraction of it. That would be like a man looking through the kitchen window of their house declaring that the sight of the corn field outside allowed them to understand the breadth of the entire world.
Which is actually kinda what flat-earthers do, come to think of it. So writing that review to shout about how awesome this movie made me feel would have been essentially outing myself as a cultural flat-earther.
So is the movie good? I thought so. It was a little mind-altering for me in the best way, and I do appreciate those experiences. Would I recommend you watch it? Sure. No idea how it'll work for you, but the songs are really catchy if nothing else. But do I feel comfortable making authoritative statements on literally anything else about the production?
No. It's really not my place.
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