5 Flights Up
“Just don’t be afraid to pull on their heartstrings,” said a realtor to an elderly couple, urging them to pen an emotional letter that might help them acquire a much sought after Manhattan flat. The same approach was taken by the makers of “5 Flights Up.”
Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman, who co-star as Ruth and Alex in this film, have a bright, friendly relationship. They are tired of living in their walkup on the fifth floor after forty years. Nevertheless, many subplots going in and out of the major storyline entwine it up rather than freeing it. What commences as sweetly sentimental story ends up being cloyingly melodramatic.
It is packed full like one of those overpriced New York City studios. Directed by Richard Loncraine (whose diverse work spans from 1995’s audacious take on “Richard III” to 2006’s typical Harrison Ford actioner ‘The Firewall’), there are several sub-plots in the film which he segues between with uneven rhythms. (Charlie Peters adapted this story for the screen from Jill Ciment’s novel Heroic Measure; maybe all these tales were more naturalistic and plausible when they had room to breathe during their writing process rather than being compiled into a film that lasts ninety minutes).
This old married couple with whom we spend just a couple days leading routine existence against the background of rapidly developing Williamsburg district at Brooklyn has been slowed down by thoughtful leisurely pace through which they have navigated their lives together for years now. In his voice over Alex says: “’The neighborhood’s changed now It’s cooler. Full of hipsters.” (And really, using Morgan Freeman as a narrator has become such a cliché that it is almost rid off all its warmth and authority.)
Alex paints pictures in his studio which is located at an angle where sunshine hardly ever disappears from; Ruth on the other hand, was a retired teacher. They were among the first interracial couples in this neighborhood four decades ago that had to handle disapproving stares; now, they are too old to climb upstairs with their ten year old scruffy terrier “Dorothy” who will be pivotal as the movie progresses.
In the film, a pushy real estate agent played by Cynthia Nixon in unflattering pantsuits and a terrible haircut insists they sell their apartment and take advantage of how hot the neighborhood has become. She promises they’ll get $1 million for it which will help them buy a new place with an elevator. And so begins ignominious process of letting strangers traipse through their home to assess out loud not only the space but also the life Ruth and Alex have forged together within it.
But this main story is actually the strongest element of the whole film. The wacky New York types with their lack of an internal censor and their wild ideas for what they’d do to the apartment provide a consistent source of laughs. But then there’s Alex’s memory that gets sparked up by this prospect; as he reminisces about his past leading him into gaunt flashbacks where he meets her, marries her, moves in together as well as shares some common place things and important moments during several years of their lives.
Some scenes from these memories crackle, others are drenched in sentimentality (As younger versions of these characters, Korey Jackson and Claire van den Boom do an uncanny job at channeling on screen older actors’ cadences and mannerisms without resorting to caricature.)
Yet there’s more than one might anticipate because Ruth and Alex go to open houses at other people’s apartments only to run into the same possible rivals or lookie loos over again. One of them, however being ubiquitous is a little girl; she is acted by Sterling Jerins who seems too magical, all knowing yet her age implies she may turn out ghostlike or figmentary part of Alex’s imagination”.
This results in some contrived race against the clock situations where they have to balance multiple bids on their own place while simultaneously making offers on numerous other places. (However if you love New York real estate or watch HGTV reality shows, you might find the minutiae of this interesting.)
Moreover, their sick dog has back problems and needs expensive surgery. She may never walk again. (I’m not sure why their veterinarian is on East 27th Street in Manhattan if they’ve lived across the East River in Williamsburg for the past 40 years, but now I’m just nitpicking). Loncraine shamelessly returns to shots of this sweet-faced little creature in its crate, panting or trembling from fear or pain.
“Dog doesn’t know where she is going, and she doesn’t know where she’s been.” Ruth comments about the dog at one point. “Neither do we,” Alex says with a smile.
What makes an apartment sale even more complicated though is a jackknifed big-rig blocking Williamsburg Bridge nearby. The driver an Uzbekistani runs away causing a panic among New Yorkers who still recall 9/11 as if it were yesterday. His ethnicity creating a general lack of trust allows others to make platitudes concerning racial harmony.
“These couple of days felt like one huge roller coaster,” Alex concludes through one obvious voice over after another.
The film almost sinks entirely under the weight of its overdone sentimentality. That said, “5 Flights Up” is not without its moments. When Keaton walks and talks through the streets of Manhattan like a neurotic someone else’s films may come to mind. Freeman’s slightly peevish avuncularity might have become old with time though.
Nevertheless, 5 flights up seems like Ira Sachs’s lesser imitation of Love is Strange about an aging couple that finds it hard to get house in a changing New York City, which was better than this one: it also makes every effort to exploit on charms of its veteran performers as much as feasible.”
Watch 5 Flights Up For Free On Solarmovies.