It is rare these days to find a film that contains original characters and stories. "Liberty Heights," while not perfect, fills the void for at least 2 hours.
The film tells three interconnected stories involving the Kurtzman family: Nate (Joe Mantegna), Ada (a criminally underused Bebe Neuwirth), Van (Adrien Brody) and Ben (Ben Foster). Ben runs an illegal numbers racket from behind the scenes of his burlesque show. Van is trying to woo a rich girl (Carolyn Murphy). Ben is romancing an African-American student, Sylvia (Rebekah Johnson), to the horror of both their families (the film takes place in 1954-1955).
All the actors do terrific work. None of them are in their comfort zone, and there isn't a single "off" performance. Joe Mantegna is solid as Nate. He's a good guy and a family man, despite his unsavory activities. Adrien Brody is also good as Van. It's a very understated performance, but we still feel for the guy. Of special note is Ben Foster. Foster has been churning out outstanding performances left and right in varied types of roles, and this is another great performance. He is so real, and the voice he uses is so different from the one he usually has. He's also immensely likable, which is especially noteworthy coming from a guy who would later play creepy psychos in "Alpha Dog" (where I first noticed him) and "3:10 to Yuma"). Rebekah Johnson and Carolyn Murphy are solid as well as the pursued girls, and Orlando Jones is suitably loopy in an off-the-wall performance (Levinson keeps him, like the film, a little too muzzled, however). Justin Chambers is very good as the near-alcoholic rich kid, who isn't as bad as he seems.
This is clearly a personal film for director Barry Levinson. It's another film in his Baltimore saga, but it's the first one of those movies that I've seen. After this, I'm going to check them out, but not immediately. The film is a little too understated; films that go this route have an added level of verisimilitude, but a little of this goes a long way, and especially in Adrien Brody's case, it's a little too understated to be believable. Some of the cross-cutting montages don't quite work either, although that's nitpicking (the worst example of this is in the end credits, which cuts from jazz to pop and back again with rather startling ineptitude, but this is the point where you're supposed to be turning off the TV anyway).
I'd recommend the film, but only if you're really into this kind of a movie, especially since it's a little on the long side.
My rating: PG-13 for language and thematic material.
The film tells three interconnected stories involving the Kurtzman family: Nate (Joe Mantegna), Ada (a criminally underused Bebe Neuwirth), Van (Adrien Brody) and Ben (Ben Foster). Ben runs an illegal numbers racket from behind the scenes of his burlesque show. Van is trying to woo a rich girl (Carolyn Murphy). Ben is romancing an African-American student, Sylvia (Rebekah Johnson), to the horror of both their families (the film takes place in 1954-1955).
All the actors do terrific work. None of them are in their comfort zone, and there isn't a single "off" performance. Joe Mantegna is solid as Nate. He's a good guy and a family man, despite his unsavory activities. Adrien Brody is also good as Van. It's a very understated performance, but we still feel for the guy. Of special note is Ben Foster. Foster has been churning out outstanding performances left and right in varied types of roles, and this is another great performance. He is so real, and the voice he uses is so different from the one he usually has. He's also immensely likable, which is especially noteworthy coming from a guy who would later play creepy psychos in "Alpha Dog" (where I first noticed him) and "3:10 to Yuma"). Rebekah Johnson and Carolyn Murphy are solid as well as the pursued girls, and Orlando Jones is suitably loopy in an off-the-wall performance (Levinson keeps him, like the film, a little too muzzled, however). Justin Chambers is very good as the near-alcoholic rich kid, who isn't as bad as he seems.
This is clearly a personal film for director Barry Levinson. It's another film in his Baltimore saga, but it's the first one of those movies that I've seen. After this, I'm going to check them out, but not immediately. The film is a little too understated; films that go this route have an added level of verisimilitude, but a little of this goes a long way, and especially in Adrien Brody's case, it's a little too understated to be believable. Some of the cross-cutting montages don't quite work either, although that's nitpicking (the worst example of this is in the end credits, which cuts from jazz to pop and back again with rather startling ineptitude, but this is the point where you're supposed to be turning off the TV anyway).
I'd recommend the film, but only if you're really into this kind of a movie, especially since it's a little on the long side.
My rating: PG-13 for language and thematic material.