But not Levinson. Granted, Liberty Heights isn t anywhere near as malodorous as Sphere , but the film sure ain t no Avalon . Set in 1954, Heights central focus is on the Kurtzman family. They live in the northwest section of the city, known as Liberty Heights, in a time marred by both McCarthyism and racism. He explains at the film s beginning that his entire neighborhood consisted of Jews and, as a result, he always assumed as a young boy that the whole world was Jewish.
Heights basically consists of three stories.
Both kids know that a potential romantic relationship would be damned by both of their families, not to mention society, but they continue to secretly see each other. Nate is forced to deal with the threat of a state lottery, which would kill his racketeering business. The girl, Dubbie, already has a smarmy beau with a penchant for drinking and driving, but Van doesn t know this until later on in the film. Levinson makes every gentile seem just as evil as the English were portrayed in Luc Besson s The Messenger . The trials and tribulations of Ben and Nate eventually intertwine toward the end of the film, which makes Van s seem really pointless.