THE HIGH NOTE
US, 2020, 113 minutes, Colour.
Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Bill Pullman, Zoe Chao, Ice Cube, June Diane Raphael, Eddie Izzard.
Directed by Nisha Ganatra.
This is a drama about the American music industry. It is not the rock ‘n’ roll industry, nor the hard rock industry, but, rather, the popular ballad singers who have been popular over the decades even as their style has changed.
Response to the drama may depend on which character the audience identifies with. There are two and, while their lives were intertwined, they belonged to two different generations.
The younger is Maggie, played by Dakota Johnson. She is personal assistant to a celebrated singer, working for three years, at continued beck and call, at all hours, matters trivial or serious. But, she has a DJ father who loves music and she herself has ambitions to be a producer.
The older is Grace Davis, a veteran singer in her 40s, extraordinarily popular over the decades, recording, touring and performing. She has an assured manner but questions have to be raised as to what she is to do in this next phase of her life. Maggie is her assistant.
The audiences who identify with Grace, will be interested in career issues, age and change, the popularity of the star and her response to her public, the pressures from her producers, her celebrity and its consequent isolation from the real world and relationships. Her long-time producer, Jack (Ice Cube) wants her to become a resident artist in Las Vegas, thus ensuring her a long-term future. Maggie, whom Jack does not appreciate, is certainly against the Las Vegas option, wanting Grace to venture out into new material, new recording.
Grace is actually quite an imperious and dominating figure, drawing attention, not only from the fans who flock to her but from us in the audience. She is played powerfully, with a strong singing voice, by Tracee Ellis Ross (who, for interest sake, is the daughter of Diana Ross).
In the meantime, those following Maggie’s story, see her attracted by a singing artist, David (Kelvin Harrison Jr) who is content to sing in stores and play in small bands. Maggie decides she wants to produce his album, persuading him, somewhat reluctantly on his part, to go to recording studios. They also fall in love. When she does get a situation where she can promote him, it falls through, Maggie resigning, Grace unimpressed.
We know that there is going to be happy resolution but it takes its time, Maggie going back to stay with her father (Bill Pullman), David wanting nothing to do with her, Grace eventually coming to make peace (though not apologising).
And then comes one of the greatest coincidences in contemporary films! No spoilers here, but it helps the final happy resolution to come about more easily than we might have anticipated.
Quite a number of striking songs, two storylines entwined, for American music lovers and those interested in a great deal of detail about how the industry works and its effect on its stars.
1. The American music world? Audience interest? Identification with the characters, the issues, the music?
2. The Los Angeles settings, the world of the music star, lavish home and lifestyle, the contrast with Maggie, her apartment and sharing, Catalina and her father’s house, the radio station? The recording studios? Clubs, singing gigs in shopping centres?
3. The musical score, the range of songs, Tracee Ellis Ross’s performance? Kelvin Harrison Jr? The insertion of the songs, performance, recording, creating?
4. The focus on the composition of songs, sometimes quick, sometimes gradual, continued refinement? Musical performance, producer skills in discerning the quality of instrumentation, emphases? In the recording studio?
5. Maggie as assistant to Grace Davis, for three years, her encyclopedic knowledge of music, her devotion to Grace, idealising her? Her being on hand every whim? Comparisons with Gayle and her work at the mansion, friendship with Grace? Maggie producing the live action performance? Grace taking her for granted? Calling her at any moment?
6. Maggie, her ambitions to be a producer, the work with Grace? But not telling her? The encounter with David? In the shopping centre? The quality of his singing? Her interest, decision to produce him? The meetings, the discussions, his own songs? Taking him to the recording studio, the hesitations, his success, Maggie and her comments about his musicians, his band, getting better backup for him? Her organising the gig for him to introduce Grace, the meeting with Dan Deakins? His listening to music, his agreement, the plan for him to pull out and David go in?
7. Her not explaining herself to David, falling in love with him, the liaison? The effect on David? Her eventually telling him the truth about her work for Grace, her not being a producer? His being upset, not going on, Grace going immediately to her performance?
8. The continued presence of Jack, the friendship for many decades, his advice, commercial interests, not liking Maggie, contradicting her? The meetings and plans for Grace’s future career? To be resident at Las Vegas? The entrepreneur and the young men at the meeting? Grace’s age, strong reputation, the visuals of her fans and their responses to her? The question of doing a new record? Maggie discovering she was writing lyrics? Her seeming to give into Las Vegas?
9. Maggie, the failure of her plan to promote David, the aftermath of telling the truth, his alienation from her? Her return to her father, their bonding, memories of the past, her mother and the courtship, his role as a journalist, as a DJ, the station, taking over to relieve him, the choice of songs?
10. Grace, the visit to Catalina, not making an apology but welcoming Maggie back, praise of her?
11. The extraordinary coincidences, David being Grace’s son, the past not acknowledging him, his own life, wealth, singing and creating? Maggie’s shock? And Grace remembering Maggie’s father interviewing her?
12. Grace, the new songs, the recording, David singing at the concert, Grace and joining him, acknowledging him as her son? A new phase of her life? A new life for Maggie?
