Movies

'In The Heights' Early Buzz Praises Spectacular Love Letter To New York, As Tribeca Announces Indoor-Outdoor World Premiere

in the heights early buzz
By Hoai-Tran Bui/

Lights up on Washington Heights, as Twitter lit up with glowing reactions to In the Heights, director Jon M. Chu's highly anticipated feature adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's acclaimed Broadway musical. Some critics got the chance to see In the Heights last year before theaters shut down amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and it seems like others had the chance to see it virtually more recently. But last night's reactions still seemed to arrive early, considering the film isn't set to debut in theaters and HBO Max until June.

But shortly after the In the Heights early buzz hit the internet — with many praising the film to be a beautiful love letter to New York City and the movie of the summer — it was announced that the film would make its world premiere at this year's Tribeca Film Festival in special indoor-outdoor screenings held through all five boroughs. See what people have to say about In the Heights ahead of its Tribeca premiere below.

Not only is In the Heights a glorious love letter to New York City, it's also a love letter to the Pan-Latino community, which Latinx critics gushed over in their early reactions to the movie. Critics praised the film as a crowdpleaser and hopefully a game-changer for Latino representation in Hollywood — which would not be the first time that Chu has helmed a watershed movie for a minority group.

Critics in general were effusive in their praise for In the Heights, calling it a much-needed beacon of light and the perfect movie for the first summer movie season we'll have since the pandemic started. The performances of Anthony Ramos, Olga Merediz, and Leslie Grace were given particular praise.

However, like every movie, there are a few who aren't as warm to it, criticizing the film's lack of a handle on the musical movie language (which is a little disappointing to hear, considering I thought of Chu as being one of the few directors who knew how to shoot a good musical).

All the early buzz comes two months before In The Heights is due to make its day-and-date release in theaters and HBO Max on June 11, 2021, but comes conveniently the night before the 2021 Tribeca Festival announced In The Heights to be its Opening Night Film.

Tribeca will kick off its 20th edition on June 9, 2021 with the world premiere of In the Heights at the United Palace theater in Washington Heights, the neighborhood where the movie takes place. Additionally, in a special first-time occasion, the festival's opening night will be screened simultaneously across all five boroughs of New York City in multiple open-air venues.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Tribeca for a city-wide takeover of In the Heights. New York, and specifically Washington Heights, is the lead character in our film—its vibrancy and energy are unmatched. How incredible that after a year of isolation, New Yorkers from across all boroughs will have an opportunity to see it first, together, and join us in the celebration of life coming back," Chu said in a statement.

The 2021 Tribeca Film Festival will run June 9-20 as the first major North American film festival held in person since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

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