There’s a strong Donnie Darko vibe from this one!
Heartless (2009)
Directed By: Philip Ridley (The Passion of Darkly Noon)
The Prologue
You never really know what you are getting when you dip into films from across the pond. But with Heartless I think you get a very haunting tale that can stick with you after you watch it for more than one reason. Gangs of Demons, The Devil(?), and some questionable women make up a story that you just have to watch to appreciate..and appreciating this movie isn’t hard to do at all.
The Movie
Jamie Morgan, a young man with a large heart-shaped birthmark on his face, discovers that there are demons on the streets of East London. Jamie also has lost his father, can’t seem to get a girlfriend, and gets picked on a lot. So when all is added together with the demons you just know you have some interesting things going on. And in this weird and depressing tale I must admit everything mixed together does find a way to work.
It seems like as of late I’ve seen a few films where characters have birthmarks covering parts of their body and face. However, I think it might fit better if the main folks weren’t soo attractive that most people (none shallow types) could more than likely look past it. But in the film Heartless poor Jamie (who is flowing with a Donnie Darko vibe including the hoodie wearing) has his birthmark as the main focus of his frustration however as the movie moves along that does kinda change.
Demons (very scary ones) come into play and that starts the trouble. But later along that gets met with deals with people that could very well be The Devil, loss of loved ones and gets topped off with the love Jamie seems to have for a girl named Tia. A girl that at first didn’t seem to want Jamie due to the birthmark on his face. When all this gets mixed together you get some very strange things going on, things that may not at first make sense but soon will..maybe. Or at least it should.
The film is acted well, the film is weird but not too weird, and it packs a punch with the twists that follows along. Twists that I for one never seen coming and twists that seem to just top off a great film. You get surprises, you get suspense, and for all you gore lovers you even get that. There may be one or two questionable CGI moments but it doesn’t really hurt things.
Sure the ending could be confusing for some but if you “get it”, I think you’ll find you’ll like this movie even more. There’s a good message here believe it or not, you just have to perhaps think about it a little bit. Like I said (and I hate to keep dropping this name) it’s like the horror version of Donnie Darko. So if you like that and you like horror you should like this movie easily.
The Conclusion
If you can get this movie folks then I suggest you do yourself a favor and watch it. I wasn’t expecting much going in but I was greatly surprised with the results as I’m sure you will be to. It well acted, pretty well paced, and leave you thinking..Can’t go wrong with that right?
The Rating (7/10)
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