Rating: 
Summary: Very enjoyable movie with minor glitches.
Review: Warning - SPOILERS ahead. There are enough reviews already displayed here that do a great job of describing this highly enjoyable movie, so I will just add a few comments. The editing (juxtaposing different scenes of concurrent action for dramatic effect) was very well done, and all of the acting was superb - especially Rebekah Johnson as Sylvia. The look on her face when she notices Ben's "accident" is priceless. There is one howler of a goof in this movie, though. When Sylvia's father discovers Ben in his house on an autumn day, it's late afternoon with plenty of sunlight. He agrees to drive Ben home, and when they arrive at Ben's house, it's well into the night. Since the respective Baltimore neighborhoods of Ben and Sylvia are not too far away from each other, the journey could not possibly have taken several hours, unless it was made by way of Philadelphia! The kidnapping scenes seem to stretch the boundaries of reality a bit - Sylvia takes this terrifying event far too calmly. And in the last scene of Ben and Sylvia together, I would like to have seen Ben, who pushes the envelope at every turn, summon the courage to bring his and Sylvia's families together to meet each other. Despite these minor flaws, Liberty Heights is a gem.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific movie, terrific cast, terrific soundtrack. Terrific
Review: Who says they don't make nice, intimate films anymore? "Liberty Heights" is a movie that deserves a bigger audience than it eventually got. Barry Levinson has written a film with plenty of sweet moments--the mating dance between a Jewish boy and black girl, the sobering realization that the ideal girl isn't everything she seems to be, and the deep bond between family. Levinson elicits strong performances from Ben Foster, Adrien Brody, and the rest of the spirited cast. This is a film well worth renting (or buying eventually).
Rating:
Summary: Terrific movie, terrific cast, terrific soundtrack. Terrific
Review: Who says they don't make nice, intimate films anymore? "Liberty Heights" is a movie that deserves a bigger audience than it eventually got. Barry Levinson has written a film with plenty of sweet moments--the mating dance between a Jewish boy and black girl, the sobering realization that the ideal girl isn't everything she seems to be, and the deep bond between family. Levinson elicits strong performances from Ben Foster, Adrien Brody, and the rest of the spirited cast. This is a film well worth renting (or buying eventually).
Rating: 
Summary: An unjustly neglected little masterpiece
Review: Why LIBERTY HEIGHTS didn't enjoy a bigger box office presence and success is only evidence that the tender little movies get buried by the blockbuster explosion epics. This incredibly adroit recapturing of the 1950's, with all the incipient class and race issues just below the headline level, helps us understand our own insecurites no matter which one of the numerous minority groups we each claim. This is a simple, wonderful film that addresses major issues in such an honest manner that we cannot help but grow from the experience. A feel good, keep-on- the-active-shelf-of-the-DVD-library treasure!
Rating:
Summary: Truly "personal cinema of the best kind"
Review: Writer/Director Barry Levinson was prompted to make Liberty Heights after he became infuriated over what he perceived to be an anti-Semitic comment made by Entertainment Weekly film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum in her review of Levinson's Sphere (he accuses her of unnecessarily emphasizing the Jewishness of Dustin Hoffman's character). All I can say after viewing this superb film is that I hope more film critics piss Mr. Levinson off, for his fourth foray into the Baltimore of his youth is richly nostalgic without being overly sentimental (which was Avalon's biggest flaw). The young cast, headed by newcomer Ben Foster and ex-The Thin Red Liner Adrien Brody, does a fine job of bringing to life Levinson's vivid characterizations of sensitive adolescents struggling to come to terms with the colliding social and ethnic spheres of America in the 1950's. Levinson does a commendable job of avoiding the stereotypes that plague many of the films about the youth of this era; for example, the young African American girl that Ben Kurtzman becomes attracted to (Sylvia, played by the beautiful and charming Rebekah Johnson) is not some uneducated inner-city slum girl, but rather the intelligent daughter of a respected and wealthy physician; also, the WASP trust-fund-baby princess that is the object of Van Kurtzman's lust (Dubbie, played very capably by model Carolyn Murphy) reveals herself to be tormented by familial troubles that push her to find relief in alcohol and promiscuity; and, most notably, Dubbie's WASP boyfriend Trey (Justin Chambers) avoids prejudicial bulliness and ends up befriending and looking out for Van rather than eschewing him for his Jewish background.Occasionally, Liberty Heights falters when Levinson belabors the Jewish point, but this flaw is negligible in the light of the film's enormous strengths, not the least of which is expert cinematographer Chris Doyle's fluid, vibrant images (Doyle is Hong Kong maverick writer/director Wong Kar-Wai's longtime collaborator) and Andrea Morricone's moving and low-key score (very reminiscent of his father's emotionally resonant work). These highly talented artists come together to craft a film of quiet beauty and lasting poignancy.
Rating:
Summary: Nostalgic, wonderful entertainment
Review: Written and directed by Barry Levinson, who gave us the other Baltimore classics of Diner(82), Avalon(90), and Tin Men(87), as well as Rain Man (87), Good Morning Vietnam, Bugsy, Wag the Dog, and the Baltimore based Homicide tv series. This can be considered the "most Jewish" of these four films, especially since the word "Jewish" appears three times in the first 60 seconds. The period is the 1950's (1954) in the Jewish neighborhood of Liberty Heights in Baltimore. It is Levinson's personal homage to growing up Jewish in a time of Eisenhower, school desegregation, and rock and roll. From one Rosh haShana to the next, the world is changing: Jews meet non-Jews, whites meet blacks, burlesque meets television, running numbers meet the state lotteries. Nate Kurtzman (Joe Mantegna) is the daddy who happens to run numbers. He also owns a dying burlesque house. Ben (Eli from Freaks and Geeks) and syl-Van (Adrien Brody, Summer of Sam, King of the Hill) are Nate's two sons. Bebe Neuwirth plays the Ada, the mommy. While sensitive high school student Ben falls for Sylvia (singer and actress Rebekah Johnson), a black classmate, and ventures into the unknown world of black neighborhoods and families, college-student Van (the Levinson surrogate) falls for Dubbie (Supermodel Carolyn Murphy), a harsh uni-dimensional stereotype of the white, Protestant, country-club member. Some say that the second half of the film becomes a tad too melodramatic; others criticize the portrait of Little Melvin (Orlando Jones from Mad TV) and Dubbie, but the film remains a touching, wonderful nostalgic homage nonetheless. As for some inside scoops: Take note of the diner scenes which use some of the original "friends" from Levinson's feature debut "Diner." Also the composer, ANDREA MORRICONE, is the son of Ennio Morricone. This is his first film score. Take note of the graduation robes colors at the end of the film. Also, take note of the high holiday prayer at the film's end? Sheldon is played by Evan Nuemann, and Murray by Gerry Rosenthal. The character of Ben is based on Levinson's cousin Eddie (who lived three houses from the house used in the film). The location of the James Brown concert was filmed in Frederick, Maryland, since Pennsylvania Avenue was destroyed during subsequent riots. The synagogue location is Rabbi David E. Herman's Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue on the corner of Liberty Heights and Holmes Avenue. The Cantor is played by Barry Black, who was discovered at a wedding in Woodbury Long Island. He was asked to record Bayom Hahu. Also, take note of the car driven by the Pillsbury Jewboy (a Studebaker).
|
