Liberty Heights (1999)

reviewed by
Mac VerStandig


Liberty Heights
3 and 1/2 Stars (Out of 4)
Reviewed by Mac VerStandig
critic@moviereviews.org
http://www.moviereviews.org
December 7, 1999
Wide Release Date - December 10, 1999

--- A copy of this review can be found at http://moviereviews.org/liberty_heights.htm ---

---Starting on Christmas Eve you can hear Mac VerStandig's movie reviews on the radio in Portland, Maine once a week in addition to reading them on Moviereviews.org. Details on time and dial placement still to come. Stay tuned!---

Liberty Heights, Barry Levinson's fourth Baltimore-based film (following Diner, Tin Men and Avalon), is not only one of the director's stronger works but one of the best films of 1999.

It is 1954 and that means McCarthy is on television, the Second World War has been over for nine years, schools are being integrated and a noise-pollution called "Rock and Roll" is replacing Frank Sinatra in the eyes of American youth. In Liberty Heights we see how these changes affect the rich panoply of characters that Barry Levinson has created.

Ben (Ben Foster) is a young Jewish teenager who recalls eating at a friend's house when he was little and wondering what a "lunch meat" is and why everything is "all white." But then Ben makes a startling discovery about the non-Jewish population, "the other kind is about 99% of the world." During the year that this movie covers, Ben will find himself living in the new when he dresses as Adolf Hitler for Halloween; becomes friendly with Sylvia (Rebekah Johnson), an African American girl in his class and becomes an instant fan of an up-and-coming rock and roll artist named James Brown. But not even Ben is a full-fledged convert as he refuses to leave a car during a Frank Sinatra song out of respect for The Chairmen of the Board. Ben's older brother, Van (Adrien Brody), also ventures into the 1950's full force when he develops a fierce crush on a blond-over-blue gentile girl at a Halloween party.

Ben and Van's family is soon turned upside down as a conservative mother, father and grandmother protest the brothers' ultra-liberal actions. Ada (Bebe Neuwirth who gives the most delicious yet small performance in a film filled with mouth-watering acting), the boys' mother, responds to Ben's attraction to Sylvia by exclaiming "Just kill me now!" Nate (Joe Montegna), the boys' honest and moral father (which says a lot about a man who runs the local numbers bracket) who drives the year's Cadillac, is firm in his position of keeping Ben home so that he won't trick-or-treat dressed as the Great Dictator. And the whole family goes at it in discussions of how the Bible should be interpreted and whether or not McCarthy is on a witch hunt.

Today, people continually grown about the presence of liquor, racism and fighting among youth. Liberty Heights offers a refreshing reminder that this is nothing new. Van's dream girl carries a booze-filled paper bag, Ben's friend Yussel fights for his religion and racially based slander is sprinkled all about the 1950's film.

Liberty Heights avoids the heavy drama that most studies of society carry and instead offers a light wit that is oftentimes funny. One of the more uproarious and memorable scenes centers around Van's curiosity of the legal system and his decision to answer "no" when asked to swear to the truth. The scene isn't out of place nor does it seem as controversial as a similar moment in The People Vs. Larry Flynt; it is a moment that is humorous for the purposes of developing Van's character and fits in the film with ease.

The movie's exploration of various music forms in the 1950's allows for an extraordinary soundtrack. Highlights include James Brown, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Louis Armstrong, Perry Como and Frank Sinatra.

Being released in the prime of Best Picture season, Liberty Heights will likely find itself under a particularly strong microscope. The first question asked by Hollywood tends to be one questioning a film's flaws. Well, this critic only discovered one where a reference to the movie Marty is made on Halloween, 1954, before the 1955 Best Picture's release. Other than that singular nitpicking, Liberty Heights can expect smooth sailing down the river from its theatrical release to Oscar night to its video release.


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