High Art (1998) is an independent movie directed by Lisa Cholodenko and starring Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell. Lisa Cholodenko earned an MFA at Columbia University Film School where she made an award winning short film Dinner Party. Her feature High Art won the National Society of Film Critics award for Ally Sheedys performance and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at Sundance. ... Antidote Films, also known as Antidote International Films, Inc. ... Jeff Levy-Hinte is president of Antidote International Films, Inc based in New York City. ... Lisa Cholodenko earned an MFA at Columbia University Film School where she made an award winning short film Dinner Party. Her feature High Art won the National Society of Film Critics award for Ally Sheedys performance and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at Sundance. ... Radha Mitchell Radha Mitchell (born November 12, 1973 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian actress. ... Gabriel Mann (born May 14, 1972 in Connecticut) is an American actor. ... Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American screen and stage actress, possibly best known for her roles in the Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. ... Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Lisa Cholodenko earned an MFA at Columbia University Film School where she made an award winning short film Dinner Party. Her feature High Art won the National Society of Film Critics award for Ally Sheedys performance and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at Sundance. ... Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American screen and stage actress, possibly best known for her roles in the Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. ... Radha Mitchell Radha Mitchell (born November 12, 1973 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian actress. ...

Synopsis

Syd, 24, has her whole life mapped out in front of her. Living with longtime boyfriend, James, and working her way up at the well respected high art photography magazine "Frame" Syd's desires and frustrations seem typical and manageable. 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's never expected.

Opening the door to an uncharted world for Syd is Lucy Berliner. A renowned photographer, enchanting, elusive, and curiously retired at 40, Lucy lives with her once glamorous, heroin--addicted girlfriend, Greta, and plays host to a collection of hard living party kids. Before Syd's caught her breath, she's caught Lucy's fascination and is drawn into the center of Lucy's strangely alluring life upstairs.

When Syd's bosses at Frame catch wind of her acquaintance with Lucy, they suddenly take interest in Syd and pressure her to bring Lucy to the magazine. Soon a working relationship develops between the two and a project is underway which promises a second chance for Lucy's career. But as Syd and Lucy's collaboration draws them closer together, their working relationship turns sexual and the lines between love and professionalism suddenly blur. As Syd slowly discovers the darker truths of Lucy's life on the edge, she is forced to confront her own hunger for recognition and the uncertain rewards of public esteem.

Inflected with an edgy, urban realism, High Art moves beyond the high risk fantasy of Trainspotting and Drugstore Cowboy to offer up a realistic portrait of life on the borders. A psychologically searching film in the tradition of Midnight Cowboy, Five Easy Pieces and My Own Private Idaho, High Art delivers no easy answers, but rather poses the more complex questions pertinent to a generation searching for recognition and identity through love and profession. Trainspotting refers to: Train spotting, the hobby Trainspotting, the novel by Irvine Welsh Trainspotting, the film based upon the above-mentioned novel. ... Drugstore Cowboy is a 1989 film written and directed by Gus Van Sant. ... Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 film written by Waldo Salt based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy, and directed by John Schlesinger. ... Five Easy Pieces is a 1970 film which tells the story of Bobby Dupea (played by Jack Nicholson), a concert pianist who is estranged from his family. ... My Own Private Idaho (1991) is a film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeares Henry IV, part 1. ...

Syd (Radha Mitchell) is an assistant editor of a photography magazine whose neighbour happens to be Lucy (Ally Sheedy). Syd finds out that Lucy is a photographer and tries to get her to publish her photos in Syd's magazine. However Lucy has left her professional photography career behind and lives a life of drug parties with her friends. She takes up the assignment for Syd and in turn asks her to be her editor.

Trivia

The character of Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy) was based on Nan Goldin's life and work.[1] Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American screen and stage actress, possibly best known for her roles in the Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. ... The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (1986). ...

External links

• Official Site
• High Art at The Internet Movie Database
• Movie reviews:
  • James Berardinelli
  • Movie Magazine International
  • The Z Review
  • CNN