FAQ

The movie tells the story of two Jewish brothers, Van (Adrien Brody) and Ben (Ben Foster) Kurtzman, and their coming of age in 1950s Baltimore.

Liberty Heights is based on an autobiographical screenplay by American writer-director Barry Levinson.

After visiting Trey (Justin Chambers) in the hospital in Virginia, Van (Adrien Brody) and Dubbie (Carolyn Murphy) get a motel room before heading back to Baltimore. Dubbie, who has been guzzling a bottle of booze all afternoon, falls off the bed and starts to cry. She pleads with Van to make love to her, then runs off to the bathroom and throws up. Nate Kurtzman (Joe Mantegna) and all the employees of the Burlesque House are arrested on charges of tax evasion and transporting girls across state lines for the purpose of prostitution after it is discovered that their business partner, Little Melvin (Orlando Jones), is dealing drugs on the side. Van is able to get Trey, whose father is a prominent Baltimore lawyer, to ask his father to delay the arrest until after Rosh Hashanah and the viewing of the new Cadillac. Ben (Ben Foster) and Sylvia (Rebekah Johnson) graduate from high school and surprise both sets of parents by kissing each other after the graduation ceremony. Ben and his two Jewish friends integrate the swimming hole by removing the sign saying "No Jews, Dogs, or Coloreds Allowed," and sitting on lawn chairs at the end of pier, each of them wearing a letter from "JEW" painted on their chests. In the final scene, Nate is led from the temple after kissing his wife and sons goodbye. As the credits roll, the new Cadillac model is displayed.