High Art

R

1998

1 hr. 42 min.

Drama

LGBTQ+

List

76%

50 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Syd (Radha Mitchell), a low-level editor at a photography magazine eager to establish herself, discovers her neighbor is the once-celebrated downtown photographer Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy). Although Syd lives with her boyfriend (Gabriel Mann), she is drawn to Lucy, who has a volatile relationship with her heroin-addicted girlfriend, Greta (Patricia Clarkson). As Syd starts sleeping with Lucy, she is pulled into a glamorous but dangerous art-world scene, full of drugs and unexpected pleasures.

Read More

Read Less

Critics Consensus

A surprisingly sultry performance from Ally Sheedy elevates High Art from pretentious melodrama to compelling -- if still a little pretentious -- romance.

Read Critics Reviews

Delorian C

I loved the art part of it. The photography, the advancing her career, the nice cars, the cigarettes, the lighting, the neighborly exploration.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

John S

Superb, sexy, heartbreaking love story that is also a profound and realistic meditation on art and the art business. Stellar acting by the two leads as well as the inimitable Patricia Clarkson as the German junkie-ist German junkie ever captured on screen. Captivating.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/10/22

Full Review

dave s

The majority of the characters in High Art speak in hushed whispers, seemingly disinterested in their surroundings, other than where their next fix is coming from. The remaining characters, all in the publishing business, converse in patronizing platitudes, always careful to maintain the monotone drone used to convey superiority. It's essentially the story of Lucy (Ally Sheedy), a photographer who has fallen out of the scene for a decade, and her relationship with Syd (Radha Mitchell), a photo magazine editor who tries to lure Lucy back into the world of photography. The relationship between the two leads is interesting, but the secondary characters, of which there are far too many, are vacuous and one-dimensional shells that suck the energy out of the film. In addition, much of the dialogue feels stilted or forced, which further detracts from what could have been an interesting film.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

gretta j

I loved the art part of it. The photography, the advancing her career, the nice cars, the cigarettes, the lighting, the neighborly exploration.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wonderful film, beautifully written and shot, and well acted. The perspective though the eyes of Radha Mitchell keeps the film focused, and it is unveiled before us one layer at a time and not at all erratic. Easily watchable film and not overdone, and the writing is just perfect. This is a film you will remember, and I have.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

High Art [Lisa Cholodenko, 1998, United States] Solid, sexy, crafted characters. a psychological rollercoaster. 6/10

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Lisa Cholodenko

Director

Ally Sheedy

Lucy Berliner

Radha Mitchell

Syd

Patricia Clarkson

Greta

Tammy Grimes

Vera

Gabriel Mann

James

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

95%

92%

Hundreds of Beavers

TRAILER

for Hundreds of Beavers

67%

31%

The Stranger

TRAILER

for The Stranger

50%

92%

The Stolen Valley

TRAILER

for The Stolen Valley

93%

95%

Dune: Part Two

TRAILER

for Dune: Part Two

71%

60%

Immaculate

TRAILER

for Immaculate

82%

75%

In the Land of Saints and Sinners

TRAILER

for In the Land of Saints and Sinners

69%

81%

Sweet Dreams

TRAILER

for Sweet Dreams

56%

83%

DogMan

TRAILER

for DogMan

%

39%

Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer

%

%

An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th

TRAILER

for An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Tracee Ellis Ross’s Five Favorite Films

View more photos

Drew Gregory

Autostraddle

Ally Sheedy plays Lucy with a sexy grime.

Mar 29, 2021

Full Review

Philippa Snow

New Statesman

As well as its procession of downtown drug soirées, High Art offers one of the more sensitive on-screen depictions of lesbian sex in (relatively) mainstream cinema.

Jan 21, 2021

Full Review

Alyx Vesey

Bitch Media

[Ally Sheedy's] excellent as Berliner.

Jan 11, 2021

Full Review

Anthony Bell

Our Own Community Press (Norfolk, VA)

Strong performances by [a] supporting cast keep this film energized through its very last scene

May 3, 2023

Full Review

Aviva Dove-Viebahn

Ms. Magazine

Twenty-two years later, High Art...resonates simultaneously as a timeless meditation on love, loss and art and as a trenchant drama,

Jun 24, 2021

Full Review

Ren Jender

Bitch Flicks

The film's treatment of women's sexuality is a nice contrast to the lesbian-bed-death clichés (and anti-chemistry) of Julianne Moore and Annette Bening in [Lisa] Cholodenko's more recent The Kids Are All Right.

Mar 12, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Syd (Radha Mitchell), a low-level editor at a photography magazine eager to establish herself, discovers her neighbor is the once-celebrated downtown photographer Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy). Although Syd lives with her boyfriend (Gabriel Mann), she is drawn to Lucy, who has a volatile relationship with her heroin-addicted girlfriend, Greta (Patricia Clarkson). As Syd starts sleeping with Lucy, she is pulled into a glamorous but dangerous art-world scene, full of drugs and unexpected pleasures.

Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Screenwriter: Lisa Cholodenko
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.9M
Sound Mix: Surround