High Art is an independent film released in 1998 by Columbia Pictures, written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko in her debut film. The film examines an intertwining of love, sexuality, art, and ambition, all while staying true to the deeply personal emotions of the characters and using dreamlike cinematography. High Art is regarded as a classic of queer cinema, a reflection on the preservation and costs of creative freedom, and a passionate performance from both Radha Mitchell and Ally Sheedy.
While the film is relatively unheard of, it did receive critical praise and winning multiple awards at film festivals, including the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival. It is now widely regarded as cult classic, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community, for its portrayal of same-sex relationships and the devotion to passion, art that transcends constructs.
High Art, as the title suggests, frames the story of Syd, who is fully portrayed by Radha Mitchell. She is a young and forthcoming assistant editor at the high end photography magazine Frame. Her life is seemingly alright as she shares a modest apartment with her boyfriend, James. However, she feels creatively blocked, personally unfulfilled. Everything changes when a leak in her ceiling leads her to the upstairs apartment, where she meets Lucy Berliner played by Ally Sheedy.
Lucy Berliner is a celebrated photographer who once basked in glory but now lives in self-imposed exile. She shares her upscale apartment with her partner Greta, a has-been German actress turned addict. They are bohemian artists, living in a world filled with drugs and illicit late-night conversations.
Syd becomes more immersed with Lucy both professionally and personally and as a result her and Lucy’s relationship deepens and evolves into a romantic and sexual affair. With the intention of rekindling Lucy’s revelation, Syd offers her the opportunity to be publicly featured in Frame Magazine. As a result, both Lucy and Syd become intertwined with each other whereby Lucy takes on the role of muse and mentor to Syd, letting loose her emotional and creative chains.
Despite their love, problems abound. Lucy’s rekindling of her career brings forth old memories for Greta, while Greta displays a possessive nature, afflicted by addiction worries. While juggling all of this, Syd is faced with the dilemma of blurring the lines between professional ambition, romantic yearning, and artistic integrity, having to figure out what she wants from her career, art, and love.
Characters and Performances
Incredible as always, Ally Sheedy’s portrayal as Lucy Berliner is stunning and vivid, bringing back her roots into Erin’s world. The Breakfast Club star completely reinvents herself here, sculpting Lucy into a seductive, world-weary woman distinguished by brilliance, self-destructive tendencies, and striving toward unachievable goals. Sheedy embodies her with elegant despair, striking the perfect balance, truly remarkable.
Equally remarkable in one of her starting roles, Radha Mitchell is just as captivating as Syd. She captures the emotional shift of a woman on the cusp of evolution with raw limitationful strength. One of the film’s most striking features is Syd’s evolution from a cautious professional to a woman deeply immersed in an emotional-creative hurricane.
Patricia Clarkson as Greta is mesmerizing in her role as a faded starlet descending into addiction and jealousy. Clarkson’s performance adds emotional depth to the film, as she captures both the exposure of vulnerability and underlying menace.
Gabriel Mann, portraying Syd’s boyfriend James, along with Anh Duong, playing Lucy’s ex-coworker Delia, round out the supporting cast and further enhance the narrative, highlighting the contrast between the rigid structure of Syd’s world and the disorderly but exciting world she enters.
Themes and Symbolism
High Art is deeply rich in thematic content. At its center, it is the tale of awakening—be it emotional, sexual, or artistic. Syd’s journey reflects the struggles involved in discovering one’s voice amid a conformist society. Her affection toward Lucy is multifaceted—romantically, sexually, and intellectually. Lucy stands for the danger and unrefined exuberance of self-expression that Syd desperately wishes to access within herself.
The film also examines the intersection of art and addiction. Lucy’s artistry and brilliance are wrapped up in her addiction to heroin and the destructive bond she shares with Greta. This duality is indicative that the same zeal responsible for art’s magnificence is equally capable of profound self-ruin. The film does not celebrate addiction, showing it more as a symptom and a cause of emotional disturbance and an intense creativity.
Another prevalent theme in the film is power dynamics. The ever-changing power relations of Syd and Lucy – at first mentor and protégée, then romantic partners and muse – represent the larger picture of dominance, control, and submission both at interpersonal and occupational afrounds. The politics of creative industries are also exemplified through Syd’s role at the magazine. Her attempts to include Lucy, despite facing structural opposition, reveal the paradoxes of these systems and the battles mounted by women who wish to assert their creativity.
Cinematography and Direction
Unlike most directors, Lisa Cholodenko demonstrates great self-assurance by paying more attention to the subtleties of every scene. Her style allows silence, gestures, and even glances to articulate their meaning. Tami Reiker’s cinematography remains intimate and moody. The atmosphere surrounding Lucy’s apartment with its dim lighting, smoky air, and chaotic beauty captures a certain claustrophobic feeling which embody Lucy’s persona. Moreover, the apartment can almost feel as if it is a character in the plot, which houses secrets, serval secrets, inspiration, and decay.
Lucy, the character undergoing these struggles, is often portrayed under striking black and white photos which serve as validation to Lucy being a gifted, yet tormented artist. The photographs, fashioned by real artist Jojo Whilden, reinforce the humanistic narrative anchored around the film of High Art such as the emotional state of the character which is raw and deeply human.
Reception and Impact
After watching the film, most critics highlighted the intelligence, emotional depth, and boldness present throughout High Art. Additionally, it garnered award-winning praise on the independent film circuit such as Sundance, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and Independent Spirit Awards. Even though the film was characterized as a rising star in the independent film scene, most reviews replayed Ally Sheedy’s lauded performance which underscored a major comeback for the actress further signifying the importance of independant films.
The film did not resonate widely with mainstream audiences, but it did find its niche within independent cinema communities and among LGBTQ+ audiences. For the time, it was still quite rare for American cinema to capture same-sex relationships along with the emotional intricacies involved. Hence, the film’s honesty was refreshing.
High Art has since been recognized as one of the salient works of queer and feminist cinema. Its exploration of the constructs of power and artistic identity on gender continues to provoke debates in academic circles, along with discussions about the price of creative honesty. There are also various discussions surrounding its feminist angles that it brings forth.
Conclusion
A masterfully crafted film, High Art is hauntingly beautiful. Its exploration of self-discovery, sensuality, and sadness is refreshing, especially when centered around a singular character. Lisa Cholodenko masterfully directed the film while Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell brought it to life. Together, they created an intellectually stimulating and emotionally connective story.
The film powerfully examines the intersections of love, ambition, addiction and art. While it first appeared in 1998, these themes remain pertinent today. For those appreciating films that take the metaphorical route into the perfect blend of timeless and timely high art, High Art makes for a quietly powerful yet resonant masterpiece that remains relevant to viewers and artists for years on.
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