“The High Note” is an American musical drama film released in 2020, also known as "Diva's Assistant", directed by Nisha Ganatra and starring actors Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Ice Cube, the story is about the main character, Maggie, who is the personal assistant of pop diva Grace, and is called upon by Grace every day to help run errands and do a lot of chores, but She still hopes to realize her dream of becoming a music producer since childhood, until she meets a man with a beautiful singing voice, David, in a supermarket, so that Maggie decided to help him pretend to be a producer of new songs, but also let her face a new test.
Sometimes strength alone is not enough
The musical story of "The High Note" has always been the most suitable film genre to tell people's dreams, and in recent years alone there have been many excellent works such as "Blinded by the Light", "I Am Woman", "Yesterday", "A Star is Born", etc. Whether it is the joy of a smooth journey in the pursuit of dreams, or the frustration and obstacles felt through failure, these feelings can be put into the melodies and lyrics composed The song is a great way to express your emotions and continue to move forward towards your dreams. Although "The High Note" is not a story about a singer like the above movies, the producers are part of the industry and their sincerity and love for music have not diminished at all.
How good is "The High Note"?
Los Angeles, known as the "City of Angels," is a city of dreams, and because of the booming cultural and entertainment industries such as film and music over the years, it has attracted many young people with aspirations like Maggie, the lead character played by Dakota Johnson in "The High Note” to come here, even to work as a scheduler, run errands and handle chores. and handling chores such as the possibility of being replaced at any time small assistant, but as long as a little exposure to the field, or the opportunity to move forward towards their dream path, these jobs are enough to make them feel satisfied.
The opening scene of the movie shows us that Maggie is highly talented and passionate about music production. Despite being busy meeting Grace's various needs, she still took the time to make her own perfect version of Grace's hit song "Breaking the Girl" in the studio. So this kind of small character, who hides under the halo of a big star and tries to find her way with her own strength, not only establishes a good foundation for the dream theme of the whole story of "The High Note", but also the audience can instantly like this character because of her attitude.
Is the plot of "The High Note" like "The Devil Wears Prada"?
In the case of Maggie coming to Los Angeles, the land of dreams, to try to follow her dreams and start from a not too important position, we can actually consider "The High Note" as the music industry version of "The Devil Wears Prada", except that in addition to the original by Meryl Streep played by the fashion industry demoness replaced by the pop star of "The High Note", Maggie has been with Grace for three years and not like Anne Hathaway. The first time you need to try to break in, but already quite comfortable and have a good relationship with Grace.
The appeal of "The High Note" lies in the interaction between the two talented women, Maggie and Grace, and the problems they each face. Grace, a famous singer who has won several Grammy Awards in her career, is in a crisis of declining popularity and public scrutiny of her private life as she enters her middle age, making her gradually become somewhat dependent on the only girl around here who seems to understand her. However, in this situation of being trusted by Grace, Maggie, the assistant who holds the dream of becoming a music producer and thinks she has become a close friend of her boss, seems to be competent to the point of overstepping her duties.
The charm of the actors of "The High Note" in their respective roles
“The High Note” is undoubtedly Dakota Johnson's work, bright performance and delightful degree even higher than "Fifty Shades of Grey", a complete interpretation of Maggie, the surface of the ideal ambition and ambition for the future, but deep down because of the identity and lack of confidence, the role of ambition is difficult. So although she can meet David, a vegetarian with a great singing voice, at the supermarket and decide to help him produce an album, she cannot admit to him that she is not a real producer; she can show her strength in music production in front of big-name producers, but she cannot be truly recognized by these people at the heart of the music industry.
Perhaps David, a musician who appears to be redundant in "The High Note", makes the story slightly out of focus, but I still like the film's presentation of the inner dilemmas of the three main characters, whether it's Maggie, who has been frustrated in pursuing her dreams, David, who has a good singing voice but is in self-denial, or David, who is faced with releasing a new song or using his years of accumulated fame to retire from a long-term residency. Life struggles Grace, three have enough to convince people of the strength, but because of their own troubles and in trouble "musicians" are "The High Note" the whole film becomes quite fascinating and interesting.