Shot in the Heart

Shot in the Heart is another of HBO's gems. They make the films that Hollywood generally ignores. Shot in the Heart is a film that takes its time to tell the story of Gary Gilmore and his most dysfunctional family in an intelligent, quite un-mawkish manner. The acting is nothing short of superb. Forget Norman Mailer and savor what must surely be a true story of this very sad event.

I agree with other users comments in that the two main roles were well acted, that being the guy that played Gary Gillmore and Giovanni's role. Too bad the story was so boring. Not hearing about the story I knew nothing of Gary Gillmore before the movie so I didn't know what to expect. I thought it would be something like Dead Man Walking or The Chamber but how wrong I was. The whole movie was just talking, talking and talking about their mom and dad. The only cool scenes were the flashbacks where the dad would lose his temper. That was the only interest I got from this borefest.

I read the book this film was based on by Mikal Gilmore and the movie really surpasses it many times over. This is only because of the visual representation that it translated from book to film. For those who haven't seen this film, I would definitely read the book first!

The performances by Giovanni Ribisi and Elias Koetas were terrific. You can tell just by their body language that these characters are authentic. Lee Teregsen also gives a superb job as the oldest brother Frank Jr. Even those this story is supposed top be about the final days of Gary Gilmore's life and its overall significance in American history, "Shot in the Heart" is ultimately about the different levels of relationships between brothers and their overall relationship with their parents. Mormon superstition also plays much into this film, giving the story a very Gothic, depressing, but vivid dimension.

Shot in the Heart is wonderful. It brilliantly illustrates the plight of Gary Gimore, a convicted murder who requested death. Shot in the Heart shows the ordeal that Gilmore's family, torn up by hatred, went through. This movie is an incredible psychological study, and is wonderfully depressing and uplifting. 10/10

"Shot in the Heart" is an excellent HBO flick with one huge, glaring fault. It is, in a word, boring. Granted, many will be absorbed by the human drama. However, in the final analysis it's still 75% conversation between a murderer on death row and his estranged brother in which they share perspectives on family matters, the Mormon church, personal perceptions, attitudes, etc. none of which are particularly interesting and much of which are yada-yada-yada about the turkey thing, the Mormon blood-letting thing, the book from Johnny Cash thing, the 1000 pushups thing, the 90 year old man thing, etc. Bravo for making an excellent film. Too bad the subject was Gary Gilmore. Recommended for the not so jaded who may find a rehash of a dysfunctional family's son-gone-wrong story of interest.