This adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2005 stage musical bursts on to the screen like a confetti cannon. Director Jon M Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) delivers a blast of sunshine, hope and hotpants. But unpeel the song-and-dance romance and escapism and there’s a socially engaged, issue-led drama under the sparkle and pizzazz.
Of course it’s not unprecedented for superficially frivolous musicals to tackle serious issues: Cabaret explored the rise of fascism in Germany. Numerous Bollywood spectaculars have delved into the caste system, and West Side Story deals with the immigrant experience and gang-based tensions. It’s with the latter that In the Heights bears some similarities: both feature Latinx communities; both unfold
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