Published:
Monday, August 3, 2015
For fans of The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Freeman’s narration of 5 Flights Up is disconcerting. In both films, Freeman reflects on the past 40 years while facing uncertainty in the years to come. Instead of a character about to leave prison, however, 5 Flights Up focuses on aging married couple Alex (Freeman) and Ruth (Diane Keaton), who are deciding if they want to leave their now-coveted Brooklyn apartment that is five flights up with no elevator.
Alex struggles with the decision to leave behind the home where they began their married life. The rapidity with which their realtor races through offers on their apartment and on a new place doesn’t sit well with Alex. He needs a minute to think about what he and his wife want next from life.
Woven throughout are flashbacks of Alex and Ruth’s life together. Claire van der Boom’s nuanced performance as the young Ruth is remarkable. Without jumping into impression territory, she quietly inhabits the mannerisms, laugh, and dorkiness of a young Diane Keaton. Korey Jackson as the young Alex matches her performance.
The film’s only real flaw is a subplot involving media coverage of a suspected terrorist who locks down the Williamsburg Bridge. It is a clumsy and unnecessary distraction in an otherwise well-constructed film.
5 Flights Up didn’t get the rave reviews it deserves. Freeman and Keaton blend seamlessly as a long-married couple. The careful cultivation of their marriage and apartment is gorgeous to watch. 5 Flights Up makes you question the accumulation of your days, hoping you have chosen as well as the film’s main characters. Each day, as it is for Alex, the steps we take toward home may feel long, but what waits for us at the end of the hall is worth each labored step. Especially if it resembles what Alex and Ruth have.
This review appeared in the August 2015 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 80, No. 8, page 42).
Image: Courtesy of Focus Features
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