Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
High Art is a lesbian drama set in the art world. Sydney (Radha Mitchell) is young woman looking to advance her career at Frame, the glossy photography magazine where she works as the associate editor.
Sydney lives in New York City with her boyfriend, James (Gabriel Mann). Unknown to her, Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy), who was an up-and-coming photographer 10 year prior, and her girlfriend, Greta (Patricia Clarkson) live above them.
When there’s a leak coming from the Lucy and Greta’s apartment, Sydney goes upstairs to try to fix it. Sydney becomes interested in the photographs hanging on the walls and asks who took them. Soon Sydney becomes enchanted by Lucy, and so the plot thickens.
After Sydney informs her boss that she’s in touch with Lucy Berliner, she’s asked to approach Lucy about being on the cover. Sydney brings it up to Lucy, who agrees to do it only if Lucy is her editor. And the closer Sydney and Lucy, the more romantically intrigued they become with each other.
Some Thoughts:
Sydney and Lucy live in opposite realities. Sydney and her boyfriend are strait-laced aspiring professionals while Lucy and Greta inhabit a world of drugs and run from success. Greta is an actress who hasn’t worked since Fassbinder’s death and Lucy walked away from a successful career and hasn’t looked back. Sydney and James don’t participate in each other’s careers, while Greta is the subject of Lucy’s photographs. Lucy and Greta hang with transient people who use them for their drug supply, while Sydney and James keep to themselves.
Although it’s easy to pigeonhole High Art as a lesbian romance, it’s far from it. The romantic element is central to the story, but the art world is the focus. While Sydney’s initial interest in Lucy is to advance her career, that changes once they start working together. Lucy sees a muse in Sydney, one that could help her break away from Greta and the drugs. Each is using the other for their own interest, and the romance between them is a bit unclear because of it. Are they using each other, is the attraction purely sexual, or have they grown close?
High Art also suffers from trying too hard to be cool. The actors deliver their lines with the same slow, almost breathy, voice. The line delivery suits Greta, who spends every moment strung out, but sounds a bit fake coming from the rest of the cast. The only actor who doesn’t use this technique is Tammy Grimes, who plays Lucy’s mother.
The Final Verdict:
By the end of High Art, we never know the true nature of Syndey and Lucy’s relationship. Was it truly romantic or was it merely a means to end for each of them? And other than being confused, what is the outcome for Sydney? How does the realization about the nature of her career affect her? And for the viewer, what was the purpose of this movie?