Heights

The narrative tactic of interlinking unrelated characters can come off as forced (Love Actually) or constructive (Crash). Chris Terrio's debut film Heights, which follows a dreary day in the life of five New Yorkers, is among the latter. But while filled with proficient performances (Close seethes soulfully as a Margo Channing-like actress) and engrossing tales, the drama still lapses into the predictable (the secret harbored by James Marsden's troubled lawyer is particularly obvious). EXTRAS Featurettes about scouting the film's New York City locations and designing a Broadway set for Close's character are enlightening, if brief. In his commentary, Terrio details how he made the best of his low budget and his connections (co-producer Ismail Merchant talked Isabella Rossellini into a cameo), and laughs about how tourists tried to buy tickets to the film's fictional production of Macbeth.

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