American Heart

I first heard about this movie when it was filming in Seattle, my home. Being a fan of Jeff Bridges, I had to see it when it was released. I now own it on video, and it is one of my favorites.

The Seattle locations are used well, but the basic story could happen anywhere. Ex-con Bridges tries to build a life for himself and his estranged son after his release from prison. There are subplots dealing with a pen-pal romance and Jack's ex-partner, but the focus is on the father-son relationship. What makes the film fascinating is the texture and depth of Bridges' performance. Jack is not too smart, a drunk, and flat broke. He is thrown into a harsh, uncompromising world at the very bottom rung, and somehow must find a way to survive AND stay straight. As he gradually takes responsibility for his son, Nick, he regains his self-esteem and humanity. Bridges shows us all this with humor, honesty, and zero sentimentality. He never shies away from exposing Jack's flaws, but also imbues him with a raw sort of nobility. Flashback sequences drawing a parallel between young Jack and Nick add a layer of poignancy.

There is level of verisimilitude and frankness in "American Heart" that contemporary, mainstream American movies rarely exhibit. In form it greatly resembles Dustin Hoffman's remarkable "Straight Time", but this film is about relationships, not crime. If all you want from a movie is escapism, stay away. Those who like to wander near the Edge will be rewarded.

"you keep me straight, I'll keep you straight"

What makes "American Heart" a better film than many others with a similar theme (father and son struggling with their relationship) is the exceptional acting. Jeff Bridges and Edward Furlong are both brilliant in this film. The story is also very well-written and interesting. Definitely a film above the average. 6/10

American Heart casts Jeff Bridges in the role of a recently paroled convict who would like to make a fresh start of things. But from the gitgo he's saddled with a responsibility of his own making. His 14 year old son Edward Furlong runs away from the uncle he's been staying with and hooks up with Bridges.

Sad to say but it's like they're doomed from the start. They live in an SRO hotel on Seattle's seamier side. Bridges is working as a window washer, barely making ends meet. Furlong tries to enroll in school, but the bureaucracy proves too much. He falls in with a lot of street kids including child hooker Tracey Kapisky who reminds me very much of Jodie Foster in Taxi. She's lives in the same SRO with her mother who's in the same profession and jealous of her daughter.

Bridges also has a younger associate, Don Harvey who'd like to get him back in the criminal life. He's also found a bit of romance with a prison pen pal in Lucinda Jenney.

American Heart is a real downer of a film, but very well done. Sad to these are very real people. But oddly enough it follows the same plot line as the Shirley Temple movie Now and Forever with Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. Sort of like an R-rated version of it.

This film is not one for those who like happy endings. Still I think it is one Jeff Bridges finest screen achievements.

This is a dramatic, narrative film by Martin Bell, the director of the excellent documentary "Streetwise". And while it is obvious Bell was a little uncomfortable with the narrative format, it is one of the few independent films of the 1990's that doesn't suffer from the Quentin Tarantino syndrome--i.e. it is not just a pastiche of other movies the director has seen. It's clear Bell based a lot of this movie on real life. In fact, many of the characters here were obviously based on real people in "Streetwise"--the kid and his ex-con father, the tomboy lesbian, the 14-year-old amateur hooker. The movies suffers a little in comparison to early Gus Van Sant films ("Mala Noche","Drugstore Cowboy", "My Own Private Idaho")which had similar down-and-out characters and were also set in the American Northwest. But many will find this film refreshingly honest and less pretentious, at least, than some of Van Sant's films.

What really makes this film is the acting. It marked Jeff Bridges return to independent film (five or six years before "The Big Lebowski"), and his performance here makes one forgive him for the Hollywood crap he made in the 80's like "Against All Odds". Edward Furlong is also very good. I remember reading some alarmist claptrap about him in Premiere magazine around the time of this movie, about how he was dating a 30-year-old woman (oh, the horror! the horror!) and about to become another young Hollywood casualty. Well, starting with this film he ended up carving a nice little niche for himself in independent film (i.e. "Pecker", "Animal Factory"). Turns out that just because you're not starring in "Terminator 3" it doesn't necessarily mean you're sharing needles in a crack house with guys named Corey and girls named Shannen. And as a little icing on the cake this movie has a great Tom Waits theme song which you can't find any of his albums. Definitely a recommended movie.

Man, was Jeff Bridges excellent in this! Talk about being pitch perfect in a character who is trying to change and just having the hardest time. Subtle touches, like when he takes away the joint from his son, only to slip it into his own pocket. This is a good film, small gem. Rent it!