Le livre de Jérémie

*** out of ****

The film adaptation of the book entitled THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, i am happy to say, is pretty much spot on in capturing the tone and the general feel of the book. I've read the book many times and i am a fan of it. I liked how easy it was to get into and how the ugly tone was employed. But lets pretend that i haven't read the book. Lets pretend that i purchased this film only because i thought it looked interesting. Is it still good? Well, yeah. It pretty much is. I'm mean sure, it isn't likable, but it is well made, well acted, and well directed by another fan of the book Asia Argento. Asia also stars in it, and while she goes overboard with her part sometimes, she still does an admirable job at playing a real psycho. She plays Sarah, a junkie prostitute who has a son, of which the film is about. Her son, Jeramiah, has all sorts of twisted misadventures. He is a young boy who ends up stoned, abused, raped, brainwashed, raped again, stoned again, abused again, etc... His journey to the depths of hell becomes increasingly hard to watch as the film continues.

He eventually gets hooked up with Sarah's fundamentalist parents who are strict, abusive, and obviously angry at his mother. He ends up growing up there for most of his young life.

While the film is pretty sick and trashy, its interesting to watch this boy develop in such strange ways. Since every scene in the film is about him, we feel that we're there with him from the beginning. We feel really sorry for him during the violent sequences.

Overall, the film works well in its narrative and, while its definitely not for most people, i recommend it. Just try to stomach the subject matter.

Rated R for intense depiction of child abuse/neglect, strong sex and drug content, pervasive language and some violence.

WARNING: If you purchased this film on DVD under the distribution company of PALM PICTURES, you might easily get a faulty copy that may have a certain scene crunched about three quarters into it. This wasn't the fault of PALM PICTURES, this was just a processing fault. It happens. If your DVD is glitched, please contact palm pictures. If you would like to view the scene in the mean time, plug in this address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4v6VYsoA_c

The dysfunctional twenty-three years old Sarah (Asia Argento) takes her six years old natural son Jeremiah from the home of his beloved foster parents with the support of the social service to live with her. Along the years, the boy shares her insane and lowlife style and is introduced to booze and drugs and mentally, physically and sexually abused by Sarah, her lovers and her religiously fanatic family.

"The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" has one of the most sad, depressive, cruel and unpleasant story that I have ever seen in a movie. It is realistic and dramatic, showing a North America of losers and perverts, and not the usual land of dreams of most Hollywood movies. Asia Argento is amazing directing, writing the screenplay and acting, in the role of the vulgar and cheap Sarah, honoring the blood and names of her father Dario Argento and her mother Daria Nicolodi. The boys Jimmy Bennett, Dylan and Cole Sprouse have also magnificent interpretations in the role of the suffered Jeremiah. Unfortunately there are users that confuse an unpleasant story with a bad film, writing bad reviews because they did not like the movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Maldito Coração" ("Damned Heart")

I can't say I "liked" this film, yet I can say it was better than I expected. Actress/Director Asia Argento is both the best and worst thing about this film. As director, she presented a story that had flow and made sense, and made a couple of very good choices as to when to use surrealistic and stunt casting tricks in service of the story. She also got excellent performances out of the cast generally. Except...

as an actress, she kept taking me out of the scene. If your reaction is the same as mine, just tune her acting out and let the story unfold.

I would also say that JT Leroy, writer of the prose on which this film is based, was involved in the production. Via letter, he introduced the film at various film festivals. The claim that this is a true story, that this is "my life" that Leroy makes, tends to inoculate the film from a lot of criticism. How can anybody say "the ending wasn't much of an ending" or "the mom was really over-the-top" if the person who lived the story says the movie is "true". In other words, a movie has to have its own truth, whether the story it tells is true or not. And I guess I think this is "7" because for all it's flaws (Argento's acting, skips in time that leave characters undeveloped, and a general lack of roundness to the characters that really could have been fixed), the movie did seem to find it's own truth.

For that I credit director Argento, young actors Jimmy Bennett, Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse (who knew the Sprouse twins could act? Very well done), sharp (if stereotypical) cameo turns by Peter Fonda, Winona Ryder, & Ornella Muti (whom I took to be Lena Olin). Also props to John Robinson, who played Jeremiah's teenaged uncle -- an underused character in the film. Except I can't say that because this movie is a "true story". See? That's frustrating.

Oh, the content is strong, this is not for kids, and a LOT of adults will need to quit watching at some point. But it is overall worth the effort, if you have a strong stomach and can control your rage at the awfulness of the life depicted.

J.T. LeRoy or Laura Albert or whoever wrote the collection of stories that created Jeremiah would probably take umbrage with Screenwriter/Director Asia Argento for turning Jeremiah's life of abuse and angst into a biography of Sarah, the mother who gave birth to Jeremiah at age 14 only to relinquish him to foster homes while she lead her life as a truck stop lizard and drug addict. While Asia Argento has impressive credentials as both actress and filmmaker in Italy, her on screen performance in this self-directed film is excessively focused on her and leaves the child of the stories as a mere sidebar.

Much of the story line that ran through the book has been abandoned, probably due to the fact that few child actors could be asked to enact the bizarre and distorted things that Jeremiah did. Gone is the cross-dressing, the prostitution, and much of the other behavioral defects that peppered the pages of the novel. Instead we see a child claimed from a satisfactory foster home by a mother who jumps from one abusive lover to the next, leaving Jeremiah to fend for himself by eating out of garbage cans, living in slums and being at the beck and call of Sarah's consistently disgusting paramours. When Jeremiah is raped by one of Sarah's men he is sent to live with his crazed Bible belt grandparents where he is brainwashed into a zealot along with his cousins. He eventually is 're-rescued' by Sarah and once again the pointless existence presses on. There is no ending as there were/are further books to come.

Asia Argento creates a fairly one-dimensional portrait of Sarah, that of a wasted bit of scum obedient only to her libido and drug needs. Yes, she fled from her parent's religious suffocation, but other than that we have no insight as to her behavior. The boys who portray Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett, Cole and Dylan Sprouse) are just a bit too scrubbed and proper for the role and again we see little in the way of depth of character as Argento adapted the book. There are very brief bit parts by a number of fine actors (one wonders why they wanted to do this) such as Kip Pardue (as buff as you'll ever see him!), Winona Ryder, Michael Pitt, Peter Fonda, Marilyn Mason, Ben Foster, Jeremy Renner, and Jeremy Sisto but their appearances are strong despite the fleeting seconds in which they inhabit the screen.

The 'form follows function' rule certainly applies here: the story is shot is choppy, rancid colored, disorienting pieces that follow the style of the storytelling. The music is, well, loud and for the most part covers the dialogue (not always a bad thing). This is an 'art film' and one that takes patience to endure, but considering the great hoopla that accompanied the discovery of the 'J.T LeRoy' scandal, it probably merits watching. For this viewer the film should have just been called 'Sarah - a tour de force for Asia Argento'. Incidental information: the opening of the DVD is a multi-actor plea for support for ONE.org, a group of actors speaking out against poverty. It proves to be the most inspiring part of the disc! Grady Harp

Downright depressing. I watch films to escape or to see the joyousness of life - basically this is about child abuse. We all know what that is - and the adults who do it are downright ILL. For that reason, this film is brilliant and depicts the mental illness in adults very well - and their inability to connect with their own compassion and understanding. Makes you realise that just because a person can have a child, doesn't mean they are a parent. Throws up the whole notion of family and how damaging it is for some people.

If anything this film could be used to force EVERYONE to take a parenting course and to be observed and examined in the action of parenting.

It was realistic - but sad, depressing and well, if you are in the mood of getting depressed, watch this one.

I was really wanting to see what the kid turned into as an adult. Just another junkie?? It leaves you dissatisfied completely in that respect.