The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

I will not forget this movie for the rest of my life! Although the direction is excellent with a very good script and good production values, the performances are the standout aspect of this remarkable film. Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke make the film work and were both nominated for Oscars for their work here. Their scenes are magic, but Arkin is easily the stronger performance of the two. The supporting cast is very good, but Chuck McCann deserves special mention here. A comedian who's work has mainly been very lighthearted, he plays a straight dramatic role here and does a excellent job. A very human, very touching, very emotional film, the last 15-20 minutes will stay with you a very long time. Turner Classic Movies runs this on occasion and it is currently in print. Most highly recommended.

Reading the book is giving me an incredible introduction to the substance of the story. I am seeing some profound insights to individuals that gives understanding to people I know. Especially religious people are portrayed so I understand the religious mind so much better. One element of the movie that is missing in the reviews I've read so far is the musical score. Composed by Dave Grusin the theme sends a chill into my psyche when I hear it years after viewing the movie. Mick seems to be a surprisingly deep person; considering her environment. Her love of classical music exposes a mind that rises well above her simple life. This is the nature of genius and is probably part of Carson McCuller's own persona. I would believe she writes from memories of her own childhood.

now i would like to say this is one of the best movies i have ever seen. and in being the best, it is also the saddest. I would like to say i cried for an hour at least on this movie, and not how my life relates to it, but on the actually movie and how bad I felt about their lives. and i cried hard. not cried.. i wept.. i wept like a baby. i wept so much and hard that my stomach muscles hurt me. wow. good movie. go see it.

I saw this movie as a 15 year old when it came out. I remember it was a Saturday night and none of my friends were around. My parents didn't have any plans either and asked if I would like to go to a movie with them. Although spending a Saturday night with ones' parents couldn't be more uncool for a teenage boy, I agreed. The story and performances sucked me in from the beginning and held me there while the unbearable sadness of the final scene tore my heart out. Of course teenage boys aren't supposed to be that sentimental so it took all my strength to hold back this tidal wave of grief that cut through me. As we walked out of the theatre and through the parking lot and got into the car I said nothing. After a few minutes my mother said, "Mark, you're awfully quiet". I shot back at her "leave me alone", which she did. I didn't want reality to intrude upon the profoundly deep feelings I was experiencing. That feeling stayed with me for months. Only decades later did I realize that the movie touched on a very personal sadness in my life that as a teenage boy I couldn't begin to grapple with. Micks' mothers inability to express love for her mirrored a similar void in my relationship with my father. During a particularly depressed part of my adulthood, while I was grappling with the reality of having an unloving father, one day I found myself thinking about this movie. Oh! That's why the movie had such a devastating effect on me! It brought to the surface all of the sadness, isolation and loneliness I suppressed as a child who wasn't loved for who he was! That's the definition of a true work of art. This movie had the ability to allow me to feel what I was unable to as a child and only years later would I be able to understand the reason for the overwhelming sadness I felt then.

I have been fascinated by the work of Carson McCullers ever since I read THIALH. I have never visited America, and I find her depiction of small town life very evocative. Her writing style is weird to say the least and her life sounds even stranger. This story is without doubt her masterpiece. I read Reflections in A Golden Eye and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. How did she come up with such wonderful titles? Anyway, The Heart .... is her best. This film captures the book perfectly in my opinion. OK, the story is not perfect. It doesn't fully deal with the adolescent development of the girl, or her relationship and sexual encounter with the gangly youth (remembering names is not my speciality). Also the Stacey Keach character doesn't really go anywhere. I know that Singer (really smart use of irony in his name) is the main character, and that everyone feeds off him (cf Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke), and I think it is Alan Arkin's performance which really makes the film. What happened to Arkin anyway? After Catch 22 (also excellent) he didn't seem to do much else. Anyway, I have rarely seen a better film, and I am disappointed that it seems to be difficult to get the video, certainly in this country. Some people might say that it is rather soppy and over-sentimentalised, and I can see this myself, but it still makes my heart dissolve -I can't help it.