High Art, begins with a familiar twentysomething premise: Syd enjoys a loving if lackluster relationship with her boyfriend James and a budding if menial job at a prestigious New York City photography magazine. She's idealistic and naive, but also hard-working and ambitious: a typical new college graduate. Her life seems right on track. But when a crack in her ceiling springs a leak and Syd finds herself knocking on the door of her upstairs neighbor,a chance meeting suddenly takes Syd on a path she never expected. The woman who lives upstairs is urbane, sophisticated Lucy Berliner, a once-celebrated photographer who has curiously retired mid-career. Syd is immediately intrigued by Lucy and by her heroin-addicted girlfriend Greta, a former actress for the German enfant terrible Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Offered a choice between her cold blue apartment and the sensual, narcotic world Lucy and Greta represent, Syd's choice seems clear. When the editors at Syd's magazine hear of their intern's acquaintance with Lucy, Syd suddenly becomes a hot commodity. Syd coaxes Lucy to the magazine, and Lucy agrees to do a cover for them, but only if Syd can be her editor. And also, as it turns out, her subject. When Lucy and Syd take a weekend trip upstate to work on the layout, the two become lovers and the lines between desire and professionalism begin to blur. As they grow closer and closer, Lucy must confront the darker truths of her lifestyle and Syd must face the consequences of her hunger for recognition. Some filmmakers rely on hot-button issues to mask their weaknesses as artists. High Art doesn’t need that crutch. Cholodenko is a gifted filmmaker who skillfully uses her chosen medium to tell a topical and vital story. The acting is subtle and nuanced (including beautiful performances from Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell as Lucy and Syd, and a tour de force from Patricia Clarkson as Greta), the production design clever and evocative, and the cinematography sensuous. High Art is a powerful trip into a darkly comic world.
