Heartless

A really great twisted Horror Thriller. Not completely as original as the filmmakers want you to believe (watch last years "The Disappeared" for a similar film/movie experience, also made/from the UK), but a really great movie. Jim Sturges, who really has played quite a few roles and seems to be a rising new star on the British horizon, carries this movie with his lead performance.

He and some of his co-stars where at the Fright Fest screening, where Jim performed a song from the soundtrack of the movie. A soundtrack that has been written just for the movie and is integrated very well into it. Very subtle layered and greatly acted, this might need a second viewing, to get most of the story!

This is a "psychological" thriller as much or more than a horror film. First, Jim Sturgess is excellent and has a brilliant career ahead of him. Why we haven't seen more of Joseph Mawie, the "devil" character, over the years is beyond me. Mawie is extremely creepy and steals his scenes. Timothy Spall and Ed Marson are underrated, though you've seen them a thousand times.

The depiction of dark London is well done. And the supernatural elements are well introduced, conservatively used and blended well with the psychological travails of our main character. But there is so much going on that at times I caught myself trying to piece bits together to guess at what I was supposed to be guessing at. The "neighbor" functions as a good foil but we're led to believe he has/will have something to do with the plot, which he really doesn't. The "nephew" subplot, though of some importance to a a late plot explanation, becomes annoying early on and the actor is less than convincing.

Fun nonetheless. Difficult to make a passable horror film these days.

Philip Ridley brings us a new style of horror. Mesmerizing and twisted, Heartless tries to appeal to our deepest senses - fear simply being one of them - by means of psychology. The "monster" in this so called horror drama, is not a monster at all but an inner pattern of what makes us humans; of what our feelings may turn us into.

Perhaps the movie is slightly underrated because the point of view that should have been used to look at this movie was not from the outside of the box but from the inside.

The performances were pretty good especially from Joseph Mawle(Papa B) whom i have only seen in Merlin, Eddie Marsan("Sherlock Holmes") and his charismatic flavor and of course Jim Sturgess who proves once again that he is a British star on a dark sky. However i expected somewhat more from Clemence Poesy("War and Peace", "In Bruges) other than a lovely accent.

Overall, i give "Heartless" an 8/10 for the feelings they tried to bring up but failed in a small measure. I do believe that concentrating even more on the feelings and less on the horror part would've brought this movie a greater rating. Nonetheless, it is worth two hours of your spare time.

Now,... I never feel motivated to write reviews; This is my first. Although in the past I've seen many great motion pictures and thought about it, I just didn't want to spend the time putting my feasibly mundane typed words into a critique.

To the people that rated this a 1 star and said don't waste your time, I'm happy I decided to anyway. To anybody reading this, don't pay attention to those people. Actually, I feel sorry for those reviewers, because they completely missed the point of this piece of art. It is not your typical horror. To call it a horror would be like calling moonlight sonata just a piano song; or the person closest to you just a human. This film is beyond deep. Philip Ridleys portrayal of facing your own demons, your fears, and exposing some rays of happiness through darkness, is one of the most strange yet gorgeous things I've seen ever in a movie.

If you watch this film and are not moved in some way, I honestly wouldn't know what to say. Because this visual masterpiece is in my eyes one of the greatest I've ever seen. I don't care what the critics say, or some random individual who has the mind to dismiss it as just a complex meaningless thriller. To me, this was a heart-moving, near perfection, possibly life-changing viewing; possibly due to the fact that I instantly related to scenes in the movie. It was like looking at my soul in the clearest of mirrors. The ending was..well there's no word for it.

I really hope more people have watched this one and understand what I feel right now. I feel..reborn.

I was very fortunate today to see an early screening of Heartless at the American Film Market (AFM) in Santa Monica, CA. I went into the film thinking it would be a horror film, but found it to be more of a psychological thriller with moments of horror.

I can honestly say this film absolutely blew me away! The story is brilliant and the acting superb. Jim Sturgess' obvious empathetic grasp of Jamie's insecurities as well as innocence is mesmerizing, and he gives the audience his full range of emotions throughout the film – which his fans will especially appreciate.

From the moment he first appears on screen, you just know that Jamie is a troubled soul. Jim's moving yet subtle performance as a disfigured and self conscious young man is totally convincing and elicits all the empathy this character warrants. When tragedy occurs, we see Jim's talents shine through as an emotionally distraught and unbalanced individual caught up in something he not only doesn't understand, but cannot control. Especially poignant is when a physical metamorphosis into beauty takes place. Jamie's nuanced transformation retains his persistent, underlying insecurity, never straying far from who he truly is on the inside, thus allowing us to accept, or question, what truly makes us human or a monster. The other characters in the film seem to simply support the storyline, and none of them alone has too much screen time. It's truly Jim who carries this film. However, I did find Joseph Mawle's performance as "Papa B" to be especially creepy.

With unending edge of your seat tension, my adrenaline was pumping the entire time and there were a few unexpected moments that made me jump. The story is unique and engaging, the cinematography artistically stunning, the effects dramatically appropriate for the dark subject matter, and it has a wonderful soundtrack that allows us to hear Jim's beautiful voice again throughout.

All in all, I believe that (with proper distribution) audiences will embrace this film. I can't wait to see it again!

From www.jimsturgessonline.com