Movie Review - The High Note (2020)

Tracee Ellis Ross is an Emmy-nominated actress for the ABC series Black-ish (2014). She made a name for herself though in the UPN series Girlfriends (2000). However, she's also known as being the second child of music legend, Diana Ross. Tracee Ellis Ross is portraying a character here that is herself a bit of a music legend, a legend with somewhat of a similar status as Diana Ross, a status that might even be more contemporary and more popular. Yet, we see this black, female musician who is perhaps getting to be past her prime. She might not be over the hill just yet, but she is possibly getting there. This film is then perhaps about an aging black female musician, grappling with her career and trying to hold onto it as it was. At least, that's what the film is doing on its surface. What the film actually does is similar to what the Oscar-winning Green Book (2018) did and that's make the film about some random white person who works for the black artist.

Ross stars as Grace Davis, a huge music star. We see her on the cover of all kinds of magazines. She has a palatial home in Los Angeles. She's clearly very wealthy and has fans, even some who are young and who recognize her instantly. It's difficult to compare her to an established artist in the real world because the film doesn't really expose the history or trajectory of her career, so that we can put it in any kind of recognizable context. As a result, the easy assumption is that she's akin to Diana Ross or in that vein. Unfortunately, putting Grace's life and career in context isn't a concern of this film because again it isn't about Grace. The film is more about some random white person who works for Grace.

Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey and Bad Times at the El Royale) stars as Maggie Sherwoode, the random white person who works for Grace who is ultimately the one who is going to show Grace the way. Yes, Maggie is another white savior character just as the white character in Green Book was. It's a bit eye-rolling and frustrating. Don't get me wrong. I know that in the history of a lot of black artists, there are very influential white people who supported and helped to launch those black artists or keep those black artists afloat.

In the case of Whitney Houston, for example, that white person was Clive Davis. Yet, Clive Davis was the president and founder of a record company. Maggie is just an assistant. The idea that she's the one who's going to be crucial in Grace's career decision is laughable. The idea that Grace's relationship with this white assistant is the relationship that should be the principal focus here is a bit laughable. It's even more laughable, considering where the narrative goes. I'm not opposed to the B-plot here of Maggie trying to become a music producer and having her attempt to build her own career, but how the film intertwines that B-plot into the main plot involving Grace again is a bit eye-rolling and frustrating.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves and Luce) co-stars as David Cliff, a musician who just happens to run into Maggie at a grocery store in Laurel Canyon and becomes smitten with her. He has no idea what she does or for whom she works, but they bond over their love of music. Maggie pretends to be a big-time producer in order to get him to work with her and be her first artist. Watching the two of them struggle to forge a path in the music industry could have been interesting, but there's always something incongruous about David. It's revealed that David lives in what looks like a very wealthy home and he's the son of a Jazz musician, so it's not as if David needs Maggie, a fact that's underscored even more in the end.

It's implied that she helps him with his insecurity or confidence, much in the way of A Star Is Born (2018), but even that aspect falls a bit flat. It would be one thing if Maggie were greatly improving David's sound or pushing his music in new and bold directions. Unfortunately, the sound and the song that they craft comes across as a rather generic and uninspired R&B song that anyone could have created. It doesn't rise to the level of something like the Grammy-winning Bruno Mars. There's nothing distinctive about it, such as something like Frank Ocean who is an artist featured in Harrison's previous film Waves. Harrison is a good singer, but he himself doesn't have a distinctive voice like Anderson Paak or even Leon Bridges who is also featured on this film's soundtrack. As such, I was less impressed with the music here as I was with something like FOX's Empire.

Lastly, I have to do some fact-checking. At one point, Ross' character, Grace says that only five women over 40 have had a number-one hit and only one was black. She never specifies who these women specifically are. However, based on a cursory search, I was able to discover that she's wrong. Based on what I found, there are at least six women, possibly seven, who have had number-one albums while being over the age of 40. Of them, two were black. The first was Janet Jackson with her album Discipline. Jackson did it again in 2015 with her album Unbreakable. Both of which debuted at #1. The second black woman to do it was Whitney Houston with her final album I Look to You (2009). The other women to do it were Madonna, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand and Shania Twain. Cher is also the seventh possibility.

Although she's not factually accurate, her point is well taken that a black woman over the age of 40 would probably have trouble creating a hit record or one with mainstream appeal. Maybe the point is that Grace needs someone young like Grace to help her with her career, but again, the idea that young producers, particularly young black, female producers wouldn't have approached her before this moment is laughable. Grace's ambition and rise aren't out of the realm of plausibility, but it still reads a lot like white savior here.

Finally, there is a scene that hints that Grace hooked up with Michael B. Jordan, but the film never shows us the scene of her with him. Why not?

Rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive references.

Running Time: 1 hr. and 52 mins.

Available on PVOD.