In the Heights is a 2021 American musical drama film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Quiara Alegría Hudes, based on her and Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2005 stage musical. It stars Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace (in her film debut), Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, and Jimmy Smits. Like the musical, the film is set in the predominantly Dominican community of Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, and follows various residents as they pursue their (little dreams) for a better life.
In the Heights was originally set to be adapted by Universal Pictures in 2008, with Kenny Ortega hired to direct. After that version fell through, the project was eventually started back up in 2016, with Chu set to direct and Ramos being cast in October 2018. The rest of the cast joined in April 2019, and filming took place around New York City that summer.
Originally intended to be released in 2020, In the Heights was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival on June 4, 2021, and was released in the United States on June 10 in theaters and streaming on HBO Max under a 30-day simultaneous exhibition window. It was widely praised for Chu's direction, the performances, musical numbers and the cinematography, but it was a box-office bomb, grossing just $45 million against its $55 million production budget and $200 million break-even point. For his performance in the film, Ramos was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Since its release, the film has been included in lists of the best musical films of the 21st century.
Plot
Usnavi de la Vega tells a group of children a story of Washington Heights. Ten years earlier, Usnavi is the owner of a bodega in the neighborhood. After chasing off street artist "Graffiti Pete", he introduces: Claudia, the neighborhood matriarch who raised him; Kevin Rosario, who runs a taxi company; Benny, Kevin's employee and Usnavi's best friend; the beauty salon ladies Daniela, Carla, and Cuca; Sonny, Usnavi's teenage cousin; and Vanessa, Usnavi's love interest ("In the Heights").
Alejandro, an attorney and family friend, informs Usnavi that his late father's business in the Dominican Republic, which he dreams of reviving, is for sale. Kevin's daughter Nina returns from Stanford University. After seeing Benny ("Benny's Dispatch"), she tells her father she cannot afford tuition, but he brushes her off, telling her not to worry ("Breathe").
Nina visits Daniela's salon, which is moving to the Bronx due to rising rents in Manhattan, where she reconnects with the ladies but reveals she has dropped out of Stanford (""). Vanessa submits a rental application downtown, where she dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but is rejected ("It Won't Be Long Now"). She heads to the bodega, where Sonny asks her out for Usnavi.
Sonny learns a lottery ticket the bodega sold has won $96,000. At the public pool, everybody in the neighborhood fantasizes about what they would do with the money ("96,000"), while the local laments losing business to a Mister Softee truck (""). Reminiscing about their childhood, Benny reassures Nina she is destined for greatness ("When You're Home"). Usnavi talks to Sonny's father about letting Sonny come with him to the Dominican Republic, but Sonny's father implies he and Sonny are undocumented immigrants and cannot leave.
Kevin reveals he has sold his business to pay for Nina's tuition, but she refuses the money, revealing the real reason she dropped out was the racism she experienced. Usnavi and Vanessa head to the salsa club for their date, but he is too nervous to dance with her. After multiple men dance with Vanessa, Usnavi tries to make her jealous by dancing with another woman ("The Club"). The power goes out, and Sonny and Graffiti Pete illuminate the neighborhood with fireworks. Vanessa and Usnavi argue, and she rejects him ("Blackout").
Usnavi and a few others regroup at Abuela Claudia's apartment. Abuela begins to struggle with the effects of the heat, and Usnavi helps her to bed. Watching the found family she helped bring together, she reminisces about her childhood in Cuba and coming to , enduring hardships to be where she is today (""). She dies peacefully, and the neighborhood comes together to mourn (""). At a protest for DACA, Sonny learns that he cannot go to college as an undocumented immigrant. Nina resolves to return to Stanford to find a pathway in life for undocumented children.
Finding Vanessa's rental application in the trash, Usnavi asks Daniela to co-sign. Daniela is moving out but no-one can be bothered to show up and say goodbye. She is disappointed with the block's negativity (over the power outage and 's death), so she rouses the neighborhood into a celebration (""), as the power outage ends. Vanessa and Usnavi reconcile.
A month later, Nina is returning to Stanford. Benny promises to join her in Palo Alto, and they kiss ("When the Sun Goes Down"). As Usnavi prepares to leave for the Dominican Republic, he discovers that held the winning lottery ticket, and has left it to him. Vanessa arrives with champagne, having learned about Usnavi's help with her new lease. She suggests Usnavi stay but he refuses, and she kisses him, lamenting that she was too late in realizing her feelings for him ("Champagne").
Usnavi gives Alejandro the lottery ticket to use for Sonny's DACA fees. The next morning, Vanessa takes Usnavi to the bodega and shows him a fashion line she created the previous night inspired by Graffiti Pete's work. Seeing Pete's murals celebrating Abuela, Usnavi decides to stay. The story returns to the present day, revealing that Usnavi is telling his story in the remodeled bodega to his and Vanessa's daughter, Iris. Everyone sings and dances in the street, while Usnavi expresses his elation at being in Washington Heights, where he has always belonged ("Finale"). In a post-credit scene, the Mister Softee truck has broken down, while the piragüero has success with his business ("Piragua Reprise").
Cast
In addition, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics of the original musical and played Usnavi in the original Broadway run, appears as the piragüero, who keeps having run-ins with the Mr. Softee Truck Driver, portrayed by Christopher Jackson, who originated the Benny character through to the original Broadway run. Olga Merediz also reprises her role as Claudia.
The film includes contributions by original Broadway cast members, such as cameos by Seth Stewart, Doreen Montalvo (in her posthumous role) and Javier Muñoz, as well as background vocals by Andréa Burns, Janet Dacal, Mandy Gonzalez, Joshua Henry, Krysta Rodriguez, and Jon Rua. Broadway actor Patrick Page appears as Pike Phillips. Miranda's parents Luis Miranda and Luz Towns-Miranda make cameo appearances during "Breathe". Also in the song "Breathe", actress Ariana Greenblatt makes an appearance as the character of young Nina. The Kid Mero provides the voice of the DJ at the start of the film (a role filled by Rubin-Vega in the original stage production). Valentina appears as a patron of Daniela's salon. NPR journalist Maria Hinojosa appears as the protest leader at the DACA rally. The film also features an appearance from Rennie Harris.
Production Development
On November 7, 2008, Universal Pictures announced that they planned to adapt the original musical as a feature film for release in 2011. Kenny Ortega was set to direct the film, which was slated to begin filming in summer 2011 with a budget of $37 million. However, the project was canceled in March 2011; reportedly, this was due to the fact Universal was looking for a "bankable Latino star" like Shakira or Jennifer Lopez instead of unknown actors. In January 2012, Lin-Manuel Miranda stated that the film adaptation was back under discussion; in the meantime, he went on vacation and started to read a biography of Alexander Hamilton, which would lead to his next project, Hamilton. In May 2016, it was announced that Miranda would co-produce the film with Harvey Weinstein and backing from The Weinstein Company. On June 10, 2016, Jon M. Chu came on board to direct the film adaptation of the musical. In the aftermath of numerous sexual misconduct allegations made against Weinstein, his producer credit on the film was removed, with the rights to the film eventually auctioned off to Warner Bros. for $50 million. Warner Bros. was one of several studios wanting to produce In the Heights—due to the success of Hamilton; to persuade Miranda and Chu, they built a backlot bodega with carts and set up performances of songs from the show. The budget was set at $55 million.
Casting In October 2018, Anthony Ramos was cast in an undisclosed role, later revealed to be the lead of Usnavi. Miranda, who played the role in the Broadway production, watched Ramos play the part in the 2018 Kennedy Center production and praised him on Twitter. In January 2019, Corey Hawkins was cast in the role of Benny. In April 2019, Jimmy Smits, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Olga Merediz, Gregory Diaz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco were cast. In June 2019, Marc Anthony and Lin-Manuel Miranda joined the cast, with Miranda cast as . Miranda revealed in an interview on The Tonight Show that he initially did not plan on appearing in the film at all, having decided he was too old to play Usnavi during development. Chu and Hudes subsequently pushed for him to play the , which he was reluctant to do. He relented when Hudes threatened to cut the song "" unless he played the role.
Filming Filming began on June 3, 2019, in New York City. The bulk of filming was done at the intersection of 175th Street and Audubon Avenue, where STO Domingo Grocery Inc. was used as the exterior of the bodega. The musical number "96,000" was filmed at the Highbridge Pool featuring synchronized swimming and shot over two days with 500 extras. Christopher Scott, who had worked with Jon M. Chu on the YouTube series The LXD as well as the films Step Up Revolution and Step Up All In, served as choreographer.Hart, Hugh (June 8, 2021) "" was shot in the abandoned lower level of the Brooklyn Ninth Avenue station, which had previously been used in the film Joker (the "Joker Stairs" were also used as a filming location). The team had wanted to film the sequence inside the New York Transit Museum but could not as they were only allowed to use the space for the one day the museum is closed to the public. However, they were able to rent vintage subway cars from the museum for use in the number. The tunnel sequence at the end of the song was shot in the pedestrian tunnel at the 191st Street station. As the tunnel is a public access point for the station, the team was only given permission to close it for filming at night. The lights, which were rigged during the day while the tunnel was open, were initially designed to display a rainbow of light, but at the last second Chu had them changed to red, white, and blue – the colors of the Cuban, Puerto Rican, and American flags.
The vocal performances in the film are a mix of the actors singing live on-set, pre-recorded audio, and re-recorded in the studio during post-production. The production team's choice to use one or the others depended on the environment of the scene and tone of the song. Usnavi and Vanessa's duet, "Champagne", which is one continuous shot, was recorded entirely on-set.
The film is dedicated to the memory of Doreen Montalvo, a member of the original Broadway cast who appears in the film as one of the singers during "Breathe" and reprises her role as the Bolero singer performing "". Montalvo died in October 2020, after the film's postponed release date.
Differences from the musical