High Art (1998)
81%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 18 nominations
A surprisingly sultry performance from Ally Sheedy elevates High Art from pretentious melodrama to compelling — if still a little pretentious — romance
High Art is a film that’s been praised for its sensitive depiction of lesbian sex and its accurate portrayal of the downtown art scene. Ally Sheedy’s performance as Lucy has been described as nonchalantly sexy, sharply intelligent, tough, and vulnerable. However, not everyone is a fan of the film, with one critic calling it a warmed-over Red Shoe Diaries episode wrapped in a blanket of pretension. Despite the mixed reviews, High Art is definitely worth a watch if you’re in the mood for a film that’s both high in art and high in other ways.
Production Company(ies)
Altavista Films, Zeta Film
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong sexuality, pervasive drug use and language
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Ultra Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States, Canada
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Jul 27, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama/Lgbtq+
Keyword(s)
starring Ally Sheedy, Radha Mitchell, Patricia Clarkson, Tammy Grimes, Gabriel Mann, Bill Sage, directed by Lisa Cholodenko, written by Lisa Cholodenko, produced by Dolly Hall, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Susan A Stover, drama, LGBTQ+, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Drew Gregory, Philippa Snow, Alyx Vesey, Gavin Smith, Owen Gleiberman, Emanuel Levy, Aviva Dove-Viebahn, Ren Jender, Jason Best, Michael Dequina, Frank Swietek, R rating, photography magazine, downtown photographer, heroin addiction, glamorous art-world scene, drugs, unexpected pleasures, lesbian sex, breakup, love, loss, art, trenchant drama, puppyish idealism, steely ambition, nonchalantly sexy, sharply intelligent, tough, vulnerable, pretentious melodrama, compelling romance
Worldwide gross: $1,960,216
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,597,273
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,271
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 392,287
US/Canada gross: $1,960,216
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,597,273
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,898
US/Canada opening weekend: $47,499
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $87,167
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,989
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Radha Mitchell – Syd
Patricia Clarkson – Greta
Tammy Grimes – Vera
Gabriel Mann – James
Bill Sage – Arnie
Director(s)
Lisa Cholodenko
Writer(s)
Lisa Cholodenko
Producer(s)
Dolly Hall, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Susan A. Stover
Film Festivals
Berlin
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 18 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (12)
Ally Sheedy plays Lucy with a sexy grime.
March 29, 2021
Drew Gregory
Autostraddle
TOP CRITIC
As well as its procession of downtown drug soirées, High Art offers one of the more sensitive on-screen depictions of lesbian sex in (relatively) mainstream cinema.
January 21, 2021
Philippa Snow
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
[Ally Sheedy’s] excellent as Berliner.
January 11, 2021
Alyx Vesey
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
High Art is often compelling and uncannily accurate in its evocation of downtown demi-monde characters and druggy, entropic milieu-the art in this film is high in more ways than one.
April 11, 2018
Gavin Smith
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A-
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
A highlight of the 1998 Sundance Festival: Cholodenko depicts with unwavering veracity the breakup of one longtime lesbian relationship just as another, unexpected one begins. The acting of the three women, Sheedy Mitchell, and Clarkson, is superb.
December 5, 2006 | Rating: B+
Emanuel Levy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Twenty-two years later, High Art…resonates simultaneously as a timeless meditation on love, loss and art and as a trenchant drama,
June 24, 2021
Aviva Dove-Viebahn
Ms. Magazine
The film’s treatment of women’s sexuality is a nice contrast to the lesbian-bed-death clichés (and anti-chemistry) of Julianne Moore and Annette Bening in [Lisa] Cholodenko’s more recent The Kids Are All Right.
March 12, 2019
Ren Jender
Bitch Flicks
Clarkson’s Greta… is wickedly funny, while Mitchell’s ingénue convincingly combines puppyish idealism and steely ambition. But it is Sheedy’s Lucy, nonchalantly sexy, sharply intelligent, tough and vulnerable, who is the film’s heart and soul.
August 14, 2016
Jason Best
Movie Talk
Warmed-over Red Shoe Diaries episode wrapped in a blanket of pretension.
April 7, 2009 | Rating: 2/4
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
January 19, 2008 | Rating: 2/5
Frank Swietek
One Guy’s Opinion
May 15, 2006 | Rating: 3/5
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette…
Plot
Syd, who lives with her boyfriend James, goes to complain to her neighbor about the leak in the ceiling. Her neigbor is photographer Lucy Berliner and Syd starts to fall in love with her.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Ally Sheedy’s “surprisingly sultry performance” in High Art, calling it a standout in the film.
Lisa-Cholodenko.jpg
