The Good Heart

The Good Heart is the perfect title for this gem. It lives up the name in every way.

It's an interesting character study about an old man who owns a dive bar in New York city, and the homeless youngster he takes under his wing. Add in the grizzly characters who frequent the bar, and a lone lady friend who's also an interesting case study. There's also a curious, entertaining pet that joins the scene at the bar. However, the film isn't contained to just the bar.

The movie is shot with a filter that gives it a semi black and white feel, which doesn't distract but adds to the ambience of the film.

The acting is solid and the script is well written. The plot and storyline flow seamlessly from beginning to end.

And the end- the end really brings it all home to a, well, heartfelt conclusion. I rated it a 7 because it really hits the humanistic side of the lives of the main characters.

I attended the North American Premiere of "The Good Heart" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Brian Cox and Paul Dano (reunited after the 2001 indie classic "L.I.E.") pull off a tour de force that left me breathless in this character piece from Icelandic writer/director Dagur Kári.

The film opens with Lucas (Dano) barely eking out a living in a cardboard box under a rusty highway overpass, with only a scrawny kitten as a companion. Jacques (Cox) runs a worn old bar where he's beginning to take on its characteristics. The two meet and a classic intergenerational arc is set up that carries the film to the end.

The film is dominated by a triumphant performance from Cox, one of the film world's masters. Shot primarily in one interior location, the theatrical nature of the script lends itself to playful interaction between the two leads. The chemistry between Cox and Dano began in 2001 with "L.I.E." and there's still magic in that relationship, forged over time as Dano has matured as an actor and into manhood. Interestingly, there are some references to cars and shaving which have carried over from "L.I.E." to "The Good Heart," intentional or not. Conflict is infused by the sudden appearance of April (Isild Le Besco), who forces the two to take sides even as their friendship is beginning to blossom.

Shot with mostly hand-held camera by cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk, "The Good Heart's" grainy film stock, washed out colors, and natural lighting without compensation for shadows give the film an honest look. A sweet soundtrack is mostly provided by the player piano that holds a prominent place in the bar. It's a clever and amusing device.

A long time in the making, "The Good Heart" spent five years in production with exteriors in New York and interiors in Iceland. Cox's introduction after the screening brought the first standing ovation of the festival.

This is a must see movie - goes on my list all time favorites.

It is not a thriller but there is never a dull moment. It is no comedy either yet there were several occasions where I was laughing so hard that I was almost out of breath. It's difficult to classify.

The script has everything. Excellent plot, really fantastic dialogs, interesting characters, unexpected turns and a surprise ending... a great story and its well told.

The quality is excellent: filming, lighting, soundtrack, props, costumes ... everything.

Brian Cox is fantastic as the grumpy bar owner... Paul Dano is convincing as the homeless young man.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

I like Brian Cox, I like Paul dando. I like the premise of them, chalk and cheese characters in a seedy bar discussing life from two very different standpoints. This is what i was expecting. But for me it got much too busy. Too many inconsequential characters, uninteresting backstory for the Cox character, the hospital scenarios were hackneyed tropes repeated ad nauseam.

Despite the, at times laugh out loud humour, it was a dark depressing film, not helped by the bar interior, seedy yes, but this was Victorian workhouse bleak.

Left me feeling disappointed, that an opportunity had been missed. It wasn't the film I wanted to see, left me feeling sad tbh.

It is a drama and so-called independent film (with Icelandic screenwriter/director), but it is not oppressive, but includes plenty of comic moments. The screenplay is witty and distinct (with some predictability though) and all the cast is good (supporting actors) or excellent (leading actors Brian Cox and Paul Dano). They are masterly both together and separately, you constantly feel chemistry between them - does not matter if their characters agree or disagree.

Highly recommended, although the film is not to everybody's taste: most of event occur in a bar, scenes including women are infrequent, the ending is ambivalent. But still, this film deserves far more attention, praise and distribution, primarily in northern parts of Europe and America.