Often engaging.
Comment
07/11/03
Rate this Movie 
Washington Heights (2003)
79
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:30
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.1/10
Theatrical Release:May 9, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: Alfredo de Villa's energetic debut pays tribute to one of Manhattan's more notorious neighborhoods, the predominantly Dominican Washington Heights. Carlos Ramirez (Manny Perez), an aspiring comic... [More]
Starring: Tomas Milian, Manny Perez, Danny Hoch, Jude Ciccolella
Director: Alfredo de Villa
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Reviews for Washington Heights
One wishes the turns of Carlos' life felt more like life and less like a movie.
07/09/03
Director de Villa captures the rhythms and colors, the sounds and flavor of the neighborhood that gives this movie its name.
06/15/03
Perez has fire and verve in him and an impressive screen presence.
05/28/03
Top CriticDesperate... to please, to be urban-authentic.
05/18/03
Mr. De Villa seems to have the talent to do better, if only he can find stronger characters and story lines than he has at his disposal here.
05/16/03
Top CriticIts depiction of life sidesteps cliché, sticking to the borough of real and plausible human emotion.
05/16/03
Sincere but amateurishly filmed urban tale marked by some nice performances.
05/10/03
Tightly edited exterior sequences capture the flavor of the neighborhood's street life, and De Villa assembled a solid ensemble cast of relative unknowns.
05/09/03
Motivations slide right off the page ... Storylines are snipped short and major characters become bystanders.
05/09/03
Top CriticStory is less than revelatory, but the filmmaking is energetic and convincing.
05/09/03
Top CriticA fine Latino film exploring the transformation of a conflict-ridden relationship between a Dominican-born store owner and his comic book illustrator son.
05/09/03
Washington Heights hits a few false notes -- Eddie's vicious put-downs of his son's professional goals seem extreme, and the tragic denouement is slightly melodramatic -- but De Villa has created a truthful representation of a colorful community.
05/09/03
Washington Heights feels stiff and overworked in places, and sometimes the acting is a bit awkward. And yet the story is both compelling and easy to identify with.
05/09/03
Top CriticFor all its untidiness, Washington Heights teems with life, and its star, Mr. Perez, has charisma to burn.
05/09/03
Top CriticMakes the most of its low budget and has an abundance of heart to boot.
05/08/03
De Villa's debut film is persuasively written and acted, if a tad rougher around the edges than one might wish.
05/08/03
The DV tics (vertiginous pull-zooms, smeary focus) can't bury the movie's immense heart.
05/06/03
Despite its little imperfections, Washington Heights exists to make the Miguel Piñeros of the world proud.
04/24/03
Burns with authenticity.
04/08/03
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