''Heights'' is a 2005

Merchant Ivory Productions Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...

film that follows a pivotal twenty-four hours in the interconnected lives of five New Yorkers. It stars

Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perfe ...

as Isabel, a photographer,

James Marsden James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer, and former model. Marsden began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), '' Touched by an Angel'' (1995), ' ...

as Jonathan, a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

lawyer and Isabel's fiancé,

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

as Diana, Isabel's mother,

Jesse Bradford Jesse Bradford (born May 28, 1979) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor at the age of five and received two Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film nominations for his performances in ''King of the ...

as Alec, an actor, and John Light as Peter, a journalist. Numerous prominent actors such as

Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian ( hy, Էրիկ Բոգոսյան; ; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and ...

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

, and

Isabella Rossellini Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...

appear in supporting roles.

Plot

Over the course of 24 hours, a group of New Yorkers, whose lives are interconnected, must make pivotal decisions about their relationships. Most notably, Isabel (Banks), a photographer, is having second thoughts about her engagement to Jonathan (Marsden), while her award-winning actress mother Diana (Close) suspects that her husband is having an affair and thus questions the open nature of her marriage.

Cast

- Diana Lee *

- Isabel Lee *

- Jonathan Kestler *

- Alec Lochka * John Light - Peter Cole *

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

- Jeremy *

Denis O'Hare Denis Patrick Seamus O'Hare (born January 17, 1962) is an American actor, singer, and author noted for his award-winning performances in the plays '' Take Me Out'' and ''Sweet Charity'', as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HB ...

- Andrew *

- Henry *

- Rabbi Mendel *

Andrew Howard Andrew Howard (born June 12, 1969, in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh theatre, television and film actor. Training Howard trained at Cygnet Training Theatre in Exeter in the late 1980s, touring in productions of ''A Christmas Carol'', ''Twelfth Night ...

- Ian *

- Liz *

Matthew Davis Matthew Davis, also professionally known as Matt Davis, is an American actor. He is mostly known for his roles as Warner Huntington III in ''Legally Blonde'', Adam Hillman on the ABC comedy-drama ''What About Brian'' from 2006 to 2007 and Alari ...

- Mark *

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

- Jesse *Chandler Williams - Juilliard Macbeth *

Bess Wohl Bess Wohl is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress whose plays include ''Grand Horizons'', ''Small Mouth Sounds'', and the book for the musical ''Pretty Filthy'' with composer/lyricist Michael Friedman and The Civilians. Early life W ...

- Juilliard Lady Macbeth *

Thomas Lennon Thomas Patrick Lennon (born August 9, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director, and novelist. He plays Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the series ''Reno 911!'' Lennon is an accomplished screenwriter of several major st ...

- Marshall *

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead A ...

- Oliver *

Angel Desai Angel Desai is an American actress. Early life and education Desai was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Binghamton, New York. Her parents are physicians; her father is Indian and her mother is Filipina. She cultivated an early interest in per ...

- Laura

Release and reception

The film premiered at the 2005

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

before receiving a theatrical release that June. The film received generally positive reviews with a 64% fresh rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film a positive review, stating that "its chief pleasure comes through simple voyeurism. It is entertaining to see the lives of complex people become brutally simple all of a sudden.

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

noted the quality of the ensemble acting. The film received an award from the

Casting Society of America The Casting Society, formerly known as Casting Society of America (CSA), was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1982 as a Professional association, professional society of about 1,200 Casting (performing arts), casting directors and associate ...

for Best Independent Feature Film Casting (with the award going to James Calleri).

References

External links

* * 2005 films American drama films Merchant Ivory Productions films Sony Pictures Classics films 2005 drama films 2005 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-drama-film-stub