Review of The High Note (2020) by Chrismizerak — 01 Aug 2020

Earlier this year in my review of “The Rhythm Section”, I gave praise to actress Blake Lively, whose works I’m not too familiar with, but nonetheless I was quick enough to recognize her as a naturally gifted talent.

Today, another sermon of that kind is in order now on account of Dakota Johnson. Yes, this is the same actress that played Anastasia Steele in the highly derided “Fifty Shades” film franchise. But put aside that distinction for a moment and look at her leading role in Nisha Ganatra’s comedy-drama “The High Note”.

After seeing her here and other roles of that caliber in her filmography, someone like me might be so bold as to say that any hate thrown towards Johnson’s way on account of “Fifty Shades” is basically unwarranted.

Dakota is an attractive and likable screen presence for my money. She has an easy-going vibe to her, much like Lively, while still having a dynamic personality to boot. And those characteristics about her as an actress are clearly in full display with “The High Note”.

Johnson plays Maggie Sherwoode, a longtime personal assistant to highly celebrated R&B singer Grace Davis, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, who’s currently coasting on her past success rather than blazing a new trail forward with her music.

In her spare time, Maggie remixes Grace’s songs in a fresh way, and takes an up-and-coming musician with potential, David Cliff, played by Kelvin Harrison, Jr., under her wing. Also, against the wishes of Grace’s manager Jack Robertson, played by Ice Cube, Maggie encourages Grace to embrace her underlying ambition towards creating a new album as opposed to just continue releasing albums of her live concerts.

How will Maggie be able to guide her clients to success as an up-and-coming music producer herself? Without revealing too much, the film incorporates a couple refreshing plot developments into this story that help liven up a fairly typical rising star/success story narrative and further elevate its potential.

But what also elevates this otherwise standard plot is the cast and the arcs their characters experience within the film. It’d be very easy to label Jack as a corporate suit doing whatever he thinks will make more money as opposed to listening to his client’s ambitions and working with Grace towards her goal.

However, due in large part to some nice little touches from a directing perspective, the film is allowed to have both sides of the argument be right and wrong. Maggie can be justified with going with her gut instincts on taking a big chance on David, and Jack can still cherish the victory regarding the benefits of pleasing big talents such as rock stars or important record labels.

Yes, the third act suffers from the needlessly overdramatic and heavily cliched misunderstanding trope that many rom coms use as a convenient plot device to insert drama and conflict. At the very least though, it could have been handled much worse and it’s elevated by some subtle plot developments that make it worth soldiering through such a tired plot point.

Yes, “The High Note” has a derivative feel to its story since backstage show business (music, theatre, Hollywood, etc.) is not uncommon subject matter for film narratives. That being said, I still really enjoyed “The High Note” for what it is.

A story about an assistant looking to expand her horizons and branch out with whatever future fame her clients can achieve and aspire to. And on that front, it succeeds thanks to Johnson leading the charge with her portrayal of Maggie as the kind of person who pushes herself to help better push others to their best selves, and by default her best self.

Even if you’re not into R&B, “The High Note” is worth viewing.