a pseudo-intellectual film about the pseudo-intellectual world of art magazines , high art is as wasted as its drug-addled protagonists . 
in the only notable part of the movie , ally sheedy and radha mitchell deliver nice performances in the two leading roles , not that lisa cholodenko's script or direction makes you care much about either character . 
living in a world of heroin induced highs , they float along until they fall in love with each other . 
this uninviting picture , full of pretentious minor characters , has a receptionist that reads dostoevski and a woman in the restroom line who is a certified genius , having recently been awarded a prestigious mcarthur grant . 
24-year-old syd ( radha mitchell ) , who has a rather bland , live-in boyfriend , was just promoted to assistant editor at the artistic photography magazine " frame . " 
although the receptionist is impressed , syd is mainly a gofer for her boss until she meets famous photographer lucy berliner ( ally sheedy ) . 
for her to do photos for " frame , " lucy demands that syd be promoted to editor and assigned to her since lucy fancies her . 
lucy lives with her current lover , a washed up german actress named greta , played with a frequently indecipherable series of mumbles by patricia clarkson . 
the two of them and their friends wile away their time snorting and shooting up dope , usually heroin . 
this does not happen in a single episode , but becomes more commonplace than sleeping in the picture . 
syd , who lives in the apartment below them , joins in on the fun and becomes a member of the zombie club . 
lucy seems pretty happy with her life of drugs , which apparently is funded by her mother . 
lucy quit working professionally 10 years ago since she thought she was being " pigeonholed , " and , since her mother has money , we can only assume that that's how lucy supports her habit and procures her living expenses . 
a typical scene has the editors arguing about whether a potential photographer's work is transcendental or merely classical . 
that no one has a clue as to the dogma they are spouting becomes obvious but not particularly funny . 
 " your work has a cultural currency that is important now , " is the artist-speak that the frame's manager uses to convince lucy to show her pictures in the magazine . 
when the big scene comes in which lucy puts the moves on syd , her idea of a romantic line is , " i want to get high with you . " 
in lucy's world , sex and drugs come hand-in-hand . 
and the movie , except for the obligatory scene of someone almost overdosing , shows drug usage as being a hip and natural part of the art scene . 
this vacuous picture throws in a standard downer ending in an attempt to manipulate our emotions . 
in another movie , it might have worked , but in this one the reaction is likely to be decidedly muted . 
high art runs 1 : 36 . 
it is rated r for explicit sex , pervasive drug use and language and is not appropriate for those younger than college age .