The 1998 independent film High Art marked the writing and directing debut of Lisa Cholodenko and is one of the touchstone films of the independent cinema of the 1990s. High Art is a fine example of sensitive storytelling and personal cinema. It weaves a complex tale of art, love, passion, and self-actualization, and speaks to the limits of personal and artistic expression.
The film focuses on Syd, a twenty-something assistant editor of a photography magazine, Frame, whose life ambition centers on the fast and competitive world of art and publishing. Polished, professional, and eager, she is driven to make a name for herself. In the context of a stable relationship, and a predictable routine, the only critique on her life is, something essential is missing. It is, however, more than a critique. It is truth.
Everything changes for Syd when she realizes that her upstairs neighbor is the reclusive Lucy Berliner, an iconic art photographer who built a career on boundary-pushing, emotionally honest, and powerful art that she created. Lucy, once the nation’s art photographer, withdrew from the public eye to live a quiet life with friends and work on her art in private. Lucy’s public disappearance from the art world was an enigma, and it was the art world’s loss.
Syd is struck by an idea and decides to approach Lucy with the suggestion that she send her photographs to Frame magazine for a feature issue. What begins with a formal attitude starts to take the shape of something more personal. Syd is taken by Lucy’s calm confidence and the way she thinks and views the world. Syd being with Lucy starts to refractor and rethink her own aspirations to help her to the way “art” liberates life and not just a profession.
The more Syd and Lucy talk and spend time together, the more their conversation gravitates towards the focal topics of art and life, purpose, and identity. Lucy is a motivator and mentor to Syd, while Lucy as a polar figure is the one to reinstate her drive to showcase her art to the public. The bond that is struck is an emotionally oriented one, and it is built on discovery, admiration, and respect.
Essentially, High Art, is about human connectedness. How can one person ignite another’s imagination, bravery, and awaked sense of self? The film moves slowly, giving viewers time to think. By the end of the film, Syd and Lucy had been changed permanently. They came to understand that art is, ultimately, like life: it must be addressed honestly, and it requires risk and exposure.
Main Characters
Syd (Radha Mitchell)
Ambition, desire to make a name for oneself, and youth come together within her. She is the character in the film that is closest to the edge of adulthood. Syd is stuck between order and freedom, and that tension comes from order only structurally. This is why Syd can be empathetic: to a degree, she can imagine a life that is not too far removed from Lucy. The performance of Radha Mitchell shows the evolution of a woman not only in regard to her passion, artistry, and profession, but to her identity as well.
Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy)
Lucy Berliner is a difficult and talented artist who was once at the forefront of the world of photography but turned her back on the spotlight. She is reflective, sagacious, and a bit sad. She is someone who has experienced the beauty and the darker side of wildly creative and commercial success. Through Lucy, and her multifaceted s character, the film attempts to define what it means to be an artist. It also tries to capture the fine line between inspiration and isolation and the emotional honesty that is the core of Lucy Sheedy s brilliant performance. It remains one of the strongest of her career.
Greta (Patricia Clarkson)
Greta, Lucy s friend, and longtime companion is also a significant part of the tale. She is a bridge to Lucy’s past…’ the world of art she abandoned, and the world of emotion she now inhabits. Lucy’s relationship with Greta illustrates the often unacknowledged costs and consequences of creativity and the burden of public success.
James (Gabriel Mann)
James, who is Syd s boyfriend, represents the order and predictability of the world Syd lives in before Lucy enters her life. Although he is supportive, his focus on the mundane is in sharp contrast to the disorder and unpredictability of Lucy. Through James, the film provides a lens to view Syd’s discontent and her internal battle between the comfort of the everyday and the search for a more profound truth.
Themes and Symbolism
The film High Art appreciates personal growth, artistic passion, and the relationships that change us, but it is also a film about a calm surface and growing personal depth with a philosophical weight that is intertwined with the surface stillness.
- Art and Authenticity
Creating art that is truly authentic is a complex issue. Lucy’s photography captures truth and vulnerability, but art world expectations impact Lucy’s vision, while Syd is just beginning to understand the necessity of honesty in art. Their relationship is a metaphor for creative renewal where Lucy motivates Syd to think beyond the rules of art and Syd helps Lucy recover resolve.
- Ambition vs. Fulfillment
Syd begins the story with a career focused plot, where recognition becomes the sole marker of success. Ambition for its own sake becomes a barrier, where Lucy teaches Syd that genuine human relationships lead to the most profound fulfillment.
- Influence and Inspiration
Syd and Lucy’s relationship is one of mutual inspiration. Syd comes to Lucy’s perspective, and Lucy finds energy and curiosity in Syd. Their relationship shows that creativity can be sparked through collaboration and understanding of one another.
- Identity and Transformation
Both main characters in the film undergo transformations. Syd starts thinking of herself as not just a professional, but a true thinker and artist, and Lucy’s motivation to give of her talent becomes rekindled. The film portrays the more subtle moments in the process of self-realization that strengthen one’s identity.
- The Fragility of Artistic Life
High Art also shows the reality of the artist’s life — loneliness, self-doubt, and the push and pull of personal voice versus external voice. It shows artistry as a process of paradoxes, beautiful and demanding, clear and chaotic all at the same time.
Cinematography and Direction
Director Lisa Cholodenko brings a soft, poetic rhythm to High Art. Tami Reiker, the film’s cinematographer, employed soft lighting and natural earth tones to evoke intimacy towards the film and realism. The film unfolds in a number of small, confined closed spaces such as condos, offices, and art studios, and this offers a contemplative, and even dreamlike, quality to the film.
The arrangement of each shot mirrors the film’s themes of observation and reflection. Like Lucy’s photography, the film utilizes framing and lighting techniques to illustrate the characters’ inner landscapes. The slow, deliberate pacing allows the listener to experience the emotion in each excess moment.
The dialogue contains the appropriate degree of thanatos, and the absence of dialogue gives the impression of reality. The construction of each scene and the track of the film creates a naturalism that is unencumbered by the sentiment.
Reception and Legacy
At the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenplay Award, High Art received a positive response for its intelligent storytelling and the emotionally sensitive writing for its characters. The film revitalized Ally Sheedy’s career by earning her a multitude of award nominations for her emotionally honest and deep portrayal of Lucy.
The film is recognized for its quiet realism and the strong, complex female characters. The emotional themes of art, love, and the courage to live in the moment have made the film a timeless classic. It was, and still is, a cornerstone of late-1990s independent cinema.
Conclusion
High Art surpasses being a film focused on photography. It is a film about gazing and touching and locating directions within. It demonstrates art is a way of living and not just a commodity we produce. The film is slow and honest; it does not embellish and allows characters to evolve organically.
High Art is a film for those who value still, character-centric narratives. It is a film about creative living, profound loving, and the courage to accept the complexities of life.
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