Liberty Heights (1999)
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 46
Fresh: 40 | Rotten: 6
A moving film with moments of humor, Liberty Heights succeeds in capturing the feel of the '50s with great performances and sensitive direction.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 0
A moving film with moments of humor, Liberty Heights succeeds in capturing the feel of the '50s with great performances and sensitive direction.
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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 5,250
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Movie Info
Writer/director Barry Levinson returns to his home town of Baltimore, where he previously set three nostalgic features (Diner, Tin Men, and Avalon) for this story of two brothers growing up in the tumultuous days of 1954, as rock 'n' roll, the atom bomb, and the civil rights movement changed the way teenagers looked at the world. One of the brothers has fallen in love with a beautiful girl who, to the chagrin of his family, is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Protestant, while the other has an even
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Cast
-
Adrien Brody
Van Kurtzman -
Ben Foster
Ben Kurtzman -
Orlando Jones
Little Melvin -
Bebe Neuwirth
Ada Kurtzman -
Joe Mantegna
Nate Kurtzman -
Rebekah Johnson
Sylvia -
David Krumholtz
Yussel -
Richard Kline
Charlie -
Vincent Guastaferro
Pete -
Justin Chambers
Trey -
Carolyn Murphy
Dubbie -
James Pickens Jr.
Sylvia's Father -
Frania Rubinek
Rose -
Anthony Anderson
Scribbles -
Kiersten Warren
Annie -
Evan Neumann
Sheldon -
Kevin Sussman
Alan -
Gerry Rosenthal
Murray -
Charley Scalies
Louie -
Shane West
Ted -
Carlton J. Smith
James Brown -
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All Critics (65) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (7) | DVD (9)
A grand slam!
Liberty Heights is worth a look, with its rich characters and dialogue, and its gorgeous cinematography by Chris Doyle.
Excellent re-creation of the clothing and landmarks of Baltimore in the 1950s.
Coming to terms with "the other" (whether stranger, enemy, or alien) is as critical to the development of soul now as it was in the 1950s.
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Top Critic
Set in 1954 Baltimore, this is a coming of age story involving two Jewish boys, one in high school, one in college, both going after girls and dealing with the changing in times and issues of race, class, and religion.
Ben Foster is the younger of the two, he plays Ben Kurtzman. His story revolves around his attraction to a fellow black girl in his class. The two hit it off, but there are various obstacles in the way of them hanging out together.
Adrien Brody is the older brother, Van. He is basically the simplest character in the movie. All he wants to do is find a girl he met one night at a party, although this does provide the setup for a number of entertaining scenes involving he and his friends hanging in the "non-jewish" neighborhoods.
You also have their parents played by Bebe Neuwirth and Joe Mantegna. This plot is the least entertaining, mainly cause it drags in another character. Mantegna runs a burlesque house and an illegal numbers operation. He gets into some trouble when a lottery game they have going needs to pay off much more than they can. This part leads to a character played by Orlando Jones that really doesn't help the movie much, besides give way to some story developments.
Besides this character, the movie works very well. Foster is very good, as he is basically the main protagonist. Mantegna is just a cool guy in general, so he works. The chemistry between the friends is all very good.
Director Barry Levinson, who has made a number of comedy-dramas, knows how to keep things pretty balanced and entertaining. He also gets a number of 50s elements present and has some hints of satire.
The issues involving jews, blacks, and the rich white crowd are handled well enough, but this isn't a film about providing deep answers to these things or anything like that. It just serves as a setting.
The film takes that setting, and uses it to make a fine coming of age story.
Ben Kurtzman: In the event of a bombing, do you think this book will save my life?...First it was the Atom bomb, how its the hydrogen bomb...no hydrogen is getting through this book.