High Art

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: June 12, 1998

DVD Release Date: July 27, 2004

Plot 411: An assistant editor at a snooty art magazine meets a talented photographer, is introduced to her heroin-filled lifestyle and embarks on a difficult lesbian relationship.

Review: This was an interesting look into the art world, and it contrasted the extremely pretentious with the more organic definition of art. It also focused on what success, or the ambition to be successful, does to a person. I think Radha Mitchell and Ally Sheedy were excellent in this film. Theirs was a relationship that you knew was doomed from the start but still made you believe things could work out. At first the lesbian relationship was surprising, but it was definitely an integral part of the film. It wasn't too over-the-top or consuming. It simply was part of the story. Patricia Clarkson was also great in this one as she played Sheedy's drug-obsessed lover.

Watch It: If you like cerebral or artsy films as this one seems like it could be a story taken out of real life.

Skip It: If you like movies that focus on gags, bloodshed or terror.

Trailer: