Into My Heart

Wonderful performances by all four leads (Fornlani, Morrow, Weber and Brook) and a terrific screenplay add up to very good indie-type film about relationships in the 90s. See it, if you're NOT just an action-junkie!

Into my Heart is both moving and thought provoking. Th characters are excellently drawn and realized. The film considers hypocrisy and moral uncertainties in a very mature way. Chilly late fall locations and a beautiful score by Michael Small underline the subtly of the excellent dialogue, and the emotional fragility of the leads. This is a film that will not be appreciated by anyone looking for pat, Manichean answers to what are very complex situations. Jayne Brooke's performance as Kat stands out for its nuanced brilliance. In a way, she is the audience's proxy, attempting to parse the complexities of the other three's long standing connections. A must see for anyone interested in human relationships.

Before starting to write this review I saw that this movie got a pretty bad score (6/10 at the time) and I really don't understand why that is. Perhaps it's not the greatest movie of all times, but it sure deserves a lot better than the actual rating. But I guess I know why it isn't such a popular movie: there aren't any action scenes, no fast cars, no big explosions... only a couple of people in their late twenties, early thirties who try to deal with their lives and relationships...

Two men who have been friends since childhood have grown up, doing everything together their entire lives. When they go to college, they meet a young woman who works at the local bar. One of them falls in love and starts a relationship with her, while the other one claims that she isn't his type. But it's clear that between the two their is some kind of chemistry and after several failed relationships and a bad marriage, the other one starts an affair with his best friends wife...

As I already said earlier in this review: this isn't a movie for people who want to see a lot of car chases or other action scenes. This is a movie for people who enjoy movies with some good dialogs and some nice acting, people who are used to watch independent or foreign movies. I'm one of those people and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. That's why I give it a 7.5/10.

If like me you often enjoy watching a movie just to see the artistry of the actors, then this is a movie to watch. No impressive action and effects, or a particularly original story. Just reality...and a sober, painful one at times. The actors/actresses dragged me into it without me noticing. Of course the fact that one of these artists happens to be one of the most beautiful women alive, makes it even more worth seeing! I had seen Clair Forlani previously in Joe black and was impressed by her beauty and charm, but in this movie she has more space and shows how deeper her acting can go and impressed me even more. I agree with one of the other comments on this movie: unless you are a action or adrenaline junkie, this film is definitely worth watching.

I'm not going to reveal the plot, but you can figure it out yourself after the first five minutes. This shouldn't stop you from seeing the movie, though, because you will still be on the edge of your seat rooting for the characters, whom you will come to know and be passionately involved with in the course of the movie. The acting is uniformly excellent and completely seamless; you get so involved with the character you feel you actually are there with them living their lives, and you forget that you are only watching them on the screen. The actors can't take all the credit, because the dialog is realistic to the point of being slightly uncomfortable to watch. I can't say whether it is the acting, the directing or the screenplay that deserves the credit here, but you could also say the same for American Beauty.

I am writing this two days after having seen the movie and I still somehow feel that everything that happened in the movie also happened in my own life. Can you really expect any more from a movie?