High Art (1998)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Lisa Cholodenko

Writer:

Lisa Cholodenko (writer)

Release Date:

12 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

a story of ambition, sacrifice, seduction and other career moves.

Plot:

A young female intern at a small magazine company becomes involved with a drug-addicted lesbian photographer, both of whom seek to exploit each other for their respective careers, while slowly falling in love with each other.

Plot Keywords:

Magazine | Photographer | Assistant Editor | Lesbian | Drugs

Awards:

7 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Radha Mitchell	...	Syd
Gabriel Mann	...	James
Charis Michelsen	...	Debby
David Thornton	...	Harry
Anh Duong	...	Dominique
Ally Sheedy	...	Lucy Berliner
Patricia Clarkson	...	Greta
Helen Mendes	...	White Hawk
Bill Sage	...	Arnie
Tammy Grimes	...	Vera
Cindra Feuer	...	Delia
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Xander
Elaine Tse	...	Zoe
Rudolf Martin	...	Dieter
Laura Ekstrand	...	Waitress

Also Known As:

L'art interdit (Canada: French title) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, pervasive drug use and language.

Runtime:

101 min | Colombia:87 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Australia:MA | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

391 Productions

Trivia:

The character of Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy) was based on Nan Goldin's life and work.

Quotes:

Lucy: I haven't been deconstructed in a long time.
Syd: Yeah, I bet you hate that.
Lucy: I don't hate it at all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema (2006)

Soundtrack:

She Might Be Waking Up

I want to get high with you

-after noticing a leak in her bathroom a young photographer Syd goes to her neighbors upstairs to find where the leak is coming from and whiles in their apartment she finds that they share her love for photography. Syd soon begins to fall for Lucy who is a famous photographer and as the two slowly start a relationship it begins to affect their normal be it Syd's relationship with her boyfriend or Lucy's relationship with a cocaine addicted girlfriend.

-the brilliant thing about the movie is how much like "Kissing Jessica Stein", "Monster", and "Boys Don't Cry" the lesbian relationship is a normal one and not something done to appease some horny teenage boy. they're not rubbing ice on their nipples or saying dialog that rivals that of Jenna Jameson but just regular people carrying on a relationship. yes there is a sex scene or at least the suggestion of one but you don't really get to see it and just rather see the aftermath which was great for me because I'm not that big of a fan when it comes to sex scene in movies since they rarely depict it in a realistic way. apart from "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Tie me up, Tie me down" I've never really seen a realistic one before. They're usually covered in a blanket or next to some fire place plus the one thing that always strikes me as odd is how everyone always takes off every single piece of clothing. I'm not sure if American filmmakers realize this but you don't really need to be naked in order to have sex, you can be wearing a three piece suit and still be in the process of making babies.

-anywho getting back on topic; not all is well with the movie because despite having a great cast and a great story the movie does often fall on the pretentious side a bit which oddly enough is something that one of the characters admits in the movie. It's not much of a surprise though since most of the extreme artist folk are ridiculously pretentious. I dare anyone to go to NYFA or any other film school without bumping into someone that refers to themselves as an "artist" or talk about themselves in a third person way which I hate but in all honesty the pretentious nature is very, very, little and shouldn't really affect the movie watching for normal people. another small thing *and this is indeed a very small thing* is that the movie takes a little too long to get started. I would have preferred us meet Lucy and the gang within the first 5 minutes instead of however long it took but once again it's a very small problem so it shouldn't be much of a headache to normal people.

-the eternally beautiful Radha Mitchell *aww* plays the lead character Syd who isn't so much a lesbian as much as a woman who finally finds someone that shares her passion for photography. If she had found a man that shared that passion then I'm sure she would have carried on that affair with a man but in this case it was a woman and that's who just happens to fall for. Mitchell brings this great sense of curiosity because she's not the least bit confused about her sexuality but rather just curious because this is the first time in her life that she's ever felt like this about a woman. If this movie doesn't let people know why I have such great respect for Radha Mitchell then honestly nothing will. The supporting cast does nail the whole stoned artist aura really well especially Patricia Clarkson who looks likes she can barely support her weight and talks as if she just woke up form a 3 day nap. I'd love to say her portrayal of a coke addict is spot on but I don't know anyone that does coke but she is great in the movie nonetheless.

-another shining gem in the movie aside from Mitchell is the independent treasure Ally Sheedy who plays the lesbian photographer that seduces Syd and becomes the love of her life for the brief moments they're together. I'm pretty sure if someone that knew nothing about Mitchell or Sheedy saw this movie they'd probably think that both women were real lesbians which is a great credit to their amazing work in this. Sheedy's character is a very laid back woman despite all the crazy stuff that goes on around her. I would have loved to see more of her and her shocking development at the movie's end but the little we get of her is great to watch.

-it gets a tad pretentious and a little too slow at times but it's still a wonderful movie that hopefully people will treat as a love story and not just a lesbian love story.