Review of Heights (2005) by Lin Z — 02 Sep 2007

This film reminds me of Mike Nichols' Closer in which desire is an overwhwlming theme. The difference, though, is that where Closer shows us that infidelity complicates, Heights shows that it also can be a catalyst for redemption.

At the onset, we are introduced to characters whose lives are intertwined with each other. This causes one character to state that if all people in the world have 6 degrees of separation, Manhattan dwellers just have 2. The characters start off living out their seemingly normal existence. However, when ghosts from the past start to haunt due to an innocent incident, their well-structured lives unravel to reveal the bare but painful truth.

The story makes you reconsider some of the usual problems in one's life and how distancing yourself a bit can get you a larger and clearer view. It is quite sad how the same problems are universal and, in most cases, we just don't learn from them.