Schuss ins Herz

I read the book this film was based on by Mikal Gilmore and the movie really surpasses it many times over. This is only because of the visual representation that it translated from book to film. For those who haven't seen this film, I would definitely read the book first!

The performances by Giovanni Ribisi and Elias Koetas were terrific. You can tell just by their body language that these characters are authentic. Lee Teregsen also gives a superb job as the oldest brother Frank Jr. Even those this story is supposed top be about the final days of Gary Gilmore's life and its overall significance in American history, "Shot in the Heart" is ultimately about the different levels of relationships between brothers and their overall relationship with their parents. Mormon superstition also plays much into this film, giving the story a very Gothic, depressing, but vivid dimension.

Shot In The Heart tells the familiar Gary Gilmore story from a slightly different perspective, that of his estranged brother Mikal. Those familiar with Gilmore's tale will find this an interesting take on his story, reminding us that the victims he left behind included his own family as well as the families of the men he murdered so senselessly. Gilmore himself (played by Elias Koteas in a fantastic performance) is all here, from his cod philosophy (trust him to have read Nietsche and only quote the bits that suit him) to his complete lack of understanding of his own motives.

The star of the show is, however, Giovanni Ribisi as Mikal. He has a rabbit-in-the-headlights quality, looks fragile and vulnerable and you can't believe the two are related, never mind brothers. Since Gary has been in jail pretty much continuously since the age of 14 you can see why they don't know each other, but when the movie starts you also can't see how they ever will. However blood will out ... and they find enough shared memories to build something between them that transcends the time and place in which they do it.

Unfortunately there are a few things wrong with this movie. It doesn't purport to tell the whole story of Gilmore's life but that's OK, it doesn't have to. I'm pretty familiar with the source material though, so my boyfriend called on me to answer a seemingly endless run of questions: What happened to Galen? Who's Nicole? How did the two murders happen and how did he get caught? And when the younger Gilmores first appeared ... Who is everyone - which brother's which? Now I don't think a movie has to tell you everything and its sometimes better to leave things hinted at rather than explained, but there is an unnecessary level of confusion here that distracts a neophyte viewer from the action. But I'm nitpicking ... the acting alone is more than worth the price of admission.

High points? The two main performances, the slimy, self-interested supporting cast, the theme of white horses, and the mysterious stranger with the sandwiches. Mikal's last meeting with Gary will make you cry ... and if it doesn't, it darn well should.

I don't believe this movie got a cinema release in the UK but it is out on video this week so go get it. Highly recommended.

Shot in the Heart is another of HBO's gems. They make the films that Hollywood generally ignores. Shot in the Heart is a film that takes its time to tell the story of Gary Gilmore and his most dysfunctional family in an intelligent, quite un-mawkish manner. The acting is nothing short of superb. Forget Norman Mailer and savor what must surely be a true story of this very sad event.

An interesting TV movie based on true fact, betrayed by the description of one of the leading characters, that of a prisoner. Giovanni Ribisi plays his younger brother, who has the delicate mission of deciding if he will appeal to the courts for his brother's death penalty. But when he goes to visit him and enters Elias Koteas, the problem starts. It has nothing to do with Koteas' acting ability. He just looks like the version of a prisoner of proletarian roots according to "G.Q." magazine, with a language too sophisticated for someone who has spent most of his life behind bars. This realization came to me after meeting again an old friend, whom I had not seen for almost 15 years, which he spent in several Panamanian jails. The young man I used to know is gone, not only because he is older, but due to his exposure for a prolonged time to the penal system. There are jails and there are jails, one must say, but this one prisoner in "Shot In the Heart" is definitely out of this world.

"Shot in the Heart" is an excellent HBO flick with one huge, glaring fault. It is, in a word, boring. Granted, many will be absorbed by the human drama. However, in the final analysis it's still 75% conversation between a murderer on death row and his estranged brother in which they share perspectives on family matters, the Mormon church, personal perceptions, attitudes, etc. none of which are particularly interesting and much of which are yada-yada-yada about the turkey thing, the Mormon blood-letting thing, the book from Johnny Cash thing, the 1000 pushups thing, the 90 year old man thing, etc. Bravo for making an excellent film. Too bad the subject was Gary Gilmore. Recommended for the not so jaded who may find a rehash of a dysfunctional family's son-gone-wrong story of interest.