Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

5 Flights Up Blu-ray Movie Review

Home is where their hearts are.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 27, 2015

Life has a funny way of working itself out. Through all of the chaos, confusion, big moments, subtle hints, course corrections, grand ideas, successes, failures, and everything else the world can, and does, throw at people, sometimes all it takes is a little bit of insanity to slow the senses down, to let the eyes, ears, heart, and soul take in the bigger picture and realize that there's more to life than the hustle and bustle that defines its surface. Breathe. Sometimes all it takes is to stand back and breathe. Director Richard Loncraine's (Firewall) 5 Flights Up, based on the book Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment, tells the story of life in the modern world by way of a moment in time in the lives of an aging New York couple who slowly realize that they've put more than their apartment up for sale when they enter the topsy-turvy, turn-on-a-dime, react-to-the-moment world of New York real estate wheeling-and-dealing. The film explores a number of themes, broad and delicate alike, through the focused prism of their pending sale, from the current state of the world to the bonds of love and friendship that mean more than anything else pulling them in any number of different ways.

We're home.

Alex (Morgan Freeman) and Ruth (Diane Keaton) are putting their longtime Brooklyn apartment on the market. They're getting a bit too old to walk up the five flights of stairs, and even though they love the place -- they've spent much of their married life there, and Alex enjoys the fruits of a beautiful, bright, open art studio with a great view -- it's time to move on. They enlist Ruth's niece, a realtor named Lilly (Cynthia Nixon), to handle the legwork of the sale. While the place is on the market, an eccentric bunch of potential buyers tour the apartment and work on making bids. Meanwhile, as Alex and Ruth go on the hunt for their new place, the world around them is set into a tailspin when a jackknifed big rig on the Williamsburg Bridge creates a terror scare. At the same time, their dog is taken to emergency surgery that might not be enough to save its life.

5 Flights Up is a smart, savvy movie, one that's dramatically broader than its otherwise mundane, straightforward story line suggests. Beyond the tale of a couple working to sell an apartment and find another more suitable to their needs -- more their physical needs rather than their emotional needs -- it tackles a myriad of relevant issues in an approachable, agreeable manner. Through the snapshot of an aging couple, the picture explores a number of topics including the ebbs and flows of aging, the blessing and curse of money, even the frenzied paranoia of the modern terror age and the media's complicity in blowing everything out of proportion. Most of all, however, it explores love, long-standing, long-lasting love built on all the right things that make it work and none of the things that lead it to failure, the kind of things that allow a couple of take that breath and reassess a situation, to step away from the modern day feeding frenzy and figure out what's really best not in the moment but for their long-term plans. The film weaves it all together with an underlying simplicity, exploring them all in a condensed, intimate manner but at the same time leaving no stone unturned along the way. 5 Flights Up masters the art of the narrative, finding an effortless blend to its pieces that allows them each the opportunity to take center stage without overwhelming the core, basic ideas to play or interfere with the charm and heart inherent to the characters and their story.

That mix of movingly dramatic and effortlessly funny is the film's best asset, but it wouldn't work -- even considering the sharp, to-the-point, yet relaxed and approachable script -- were it not for the enormous talents of leads Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton. The veteran actors find an instant bond that's both outwardly charming and inwardly deep, formed by decades of love that's not wavered no matter the hurdles they've faced. The sense of real togetherness, longtime love, intimate understanding, and easy comfort with one another seems uncanny, a triumph even for actors of their pedigree. The relationship is more fully defined by several flashbacks to key moments in their marriage (where they are played by Korey Jackson and Claire van der Boom, who turn in astonishingly precise physical and verbal recreations but also find a deeper substance beyond the superficialities in recreating the characters in their younger years) that help give both a broader overview and finer understanding of who they are and how their relationship will carry them through the challenges of the chaotic days the film depicts. But perhaps most important, Freeman and Keaton make for an instantly agreeable screen couple, people in whom the audience can invest their time, share their hopes, and root for the right resolution, whatever that may be, to ensure the best future for themselves in the time they have left with one another.

5 Flights Up Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

5 Flights Up climbs onto Blu-ray with a generally spectacular 1080p transfer. Despite a few soft and drab shots here and there, the image otherwise dazzles with perfect detail and nuanced color. Faces are particularly noteworthy; audiences will feel like they're standing in front of the actors considering the level of raw, intimate detail on display. Various bits around apartments look great too -- little hints of wear and dirt on paint and surfaces -- but it's that facial definition that really excites. Street-level exteriors are likewise dazzling, presenting all sorts of deliciously complex textures to enjoy on buildings and other surfaces. Colors are even and attractive; the palette is naturally diverse and excitingly realistic both inside and outside, both often sun-drenched. Skin tones appear accurate and black levels raise no alarms. The presentation offers no egregious examples of banding, blocking, noise, or other unwanted intrusions. This is an excellent presentation from Universal.

5 Flights Up Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

5 Flights Up features a fine DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is very well spaced and naturally immersive. Music spreads nicely and enjoys light surround support in addition to its natural lifelike clarity. The track springs to life in a number of locations with a plethora of accurate environmental support effects. Honking horns, wailing sirens, whirling helicopters, and other assorted city-specific effects fill the stage with every outdoor scene. Various interiors, notably the veterinary clinic and apartments bustling with prospective buyers, also feature a natural, filled-in sense of place. Dialogue is even and consistently placed in the front-center, yielding good, natural clarity in all but a few early lines when it's challenged by, and slightly lost under, music. Otherwise, this is a fine overall listen from Universal.

5 Flights Up Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Universal's Blu-ray release of 5 Flights Up contains no bonus content. A voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy is included in the Blu-ray case.

5 Flights Up Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

5 Flights Up is a real charmer, a film that manages to blend easy access, likable characters, a simple core story, and deeper themes into one approachable, lovable movie. Also blessed with a quick-witted script, superb performances, and effortless direction, 5 Flights Up should leave audiences satisfied, smiling, and feeling like they've made a couple of new friends. Universal's Blu-ray release of 5 Flights Up is disappointingly absent any kind of extra content, but video and audio qualities are great. Highly recommended.