Heights
(Sony Pictures Classics)

Maybe it’s just a memory lapse on my part, but Heights came and went virtually unnoticed during its 2004 theatrical run. No matter, because it’s now available on DVD and well worth your attention. Taking place over the course of 24 hours, five people find themselves coming to terms with important changes in their lives, due in part to invisible connections with one another that are revealed as the story unfolds. Glenn Close portrays a grand dame of New York theater, whose open marriage appears to be heading south and who finds herself attracted to Alec, a young actor. Her daughter Isabel, is an aspiring photographer unsure about her upcoming wedding to Jonathan, a lawyer being pursued by a reporter from Vanity Fair, assigned to interview the men whose nude photographs are about to appear in an exhibition by a artist notorious for his involvement with his subjects. Secrets are revealed and lives unexpectedly intersect in this well-written and well-acted Merchant Ivory adaptation of the play written by Amy Fox. The strong cast is filled out by George Segal, Isabella Rossellini, Eric Bogosian and Rufus Wainwright, who turn up in smaller, but no less crucial roles, adding to the overall excellence of the production. --David Bassin