Maldito Coração

The competition for who had the worst childhood is now definitely over. "The Heart Is Deceitful, Above All Things" is based on the childhood experiences of author JT Leroy, whose childhood basically seems to have been an unending marathon of all the imaginable kinds of child abuse, with a few types of abuse no sane person can contemplate thrown in.

To me, this film is mainly a testament for the ability of children to adapt to just about any kind of circumstances, no matter how horrific of even inhuman they may be. As a former abused child (although the abuse I experienced as a child was nowhere near as horrific as the torment Jeremiah experiences in this film) I can definitely identify with his character. Kids can adapt to any situation, although the scars never fully heal later in life, even if you manage to escape into a better life.

Asia Argento's acting and direction both leave a lot to be desired, but all in all the end result is in definitely on the positive side. I'll look forward to her next film.

I saw this film yesterday and i was genuinely impressed. I haven't read the source stories so I can't comment on it as an adaptation, but cinematically it's a success. It deals with horrific events without glamour or lust. The more harrowing scenes are not graphic, however I was still shocked. This probably has more to do with my responces to the situations rather than any bloodlust on the directors part. The three child actors who play Jeremiah all give excellent performances, showing his growth from wide-eyed innocent to sexually confused/ing teenager. I think this is Asia Argento's second film, but i felt it to be a mature work(whoever your dad is). Watching I was aware that is was quite segmented, it was also shot and edited like a music video (bleached skies and time lapse galore). The various cameos are good value. I was thoroughly moved by this film and hope it is successful.

This a film about child abuse where the real victim is the viewer.

I'm writing this review simply to prevent others from wasting their time. The film's trailer is much more satisfying than the film itself. Watch it, and move on with your life.

This film is a great example of a bad adaptation. It has no character arc and no pay off. The cause and effect relationship is weak. Parts of the film don't even make sense. It's basically a group of disturbing scenes thrown together randomly. It's also pretentious and repetitive. My masochistic tendencies forced me to finish the film. But I spent more than half of it praying for it to end. And I'm an Atheist!

Don't waste your time.

*** out of ****

The film adaptation of the book entitled THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, i am happy to say, is pretty much spot on in capturing the tone and the general feel of the book. I've read the book many times and i am a fan of it. I liked how easy it was to get into and how the ugly tone was employed. But lets pretend that i haven't read the book. Lets pretend that i purchased this film only because i thought it looked interesting. Is it still good? Well, yeah. It pretty much is. I'm mean sure, it isn't likable, but it is well made, well acted, and well directed by another fan of the book Asia Argento. Asia also stars in it, and while she goes overboard with her part sometimes, she still does an admirable job at playing a real psycho. She plays Sarah, a junkie prostitute who has a son, of which the film is about. Her son, Jeramiah, has all sorts of twisted misadventures. He is a young boy who ends up stoned, abused, raped, brainwashed, raped again, stoned again, abused again, etc... His journey to the depths of hell becomes increasingly hard to watch as the film continues.

He eventually gets hooked up with Sarah's fundamentalist parents who are strict, abusive, and obviously angry at his mother. He ends up growing up there for most of his young life.

While the film is pretty sick and trashy, its interesting to watch this boy develop in such strange ways. Since every scene in the film is about him, we feel that we're there with him from the beginning. We feel really sorry for him during the violent sequences.

Overall, the film works well in its narrative and, while its definitely not for most people, i recommend it. Just try to stomach the subject matter.

Rated R for intense depiction of child abuse/neglect, strong sex and drug content, pervasive language and some violence.

WARNING: If you purchased this film on DVD under the distribution company of PALM PICTURES, you might easily get a faulty copy that may have a certain scene crunched about three quarters into it. This wasn't the fault of PALM PICTURES, this was just a processing fault. It happens. If your DVD is glitched, please contact palm pictures. If you would like to view the scene in the mean time, plug in this address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4v6VYsoA_c

There is something natural yet amazing about the fact that some movies about real, maybe tragic or shocking events have barely touched me - I might have consumed them as light arts - while this fictitious story has recalled so many shocking, depressing facts within a very short time, mainly those newspaper articles you just do not want to read, though you know this are the articles that are to be read, but you're conscious you simply will not read them because they evoke so much helpless anger ... it's within the sad topic itself.

I think the overall strategy of the movie is chosen quite well. The aesthetics, photography and visuals of this movie reflect the world of the and confused child mother: this pictures are somewhat clichés of those typical highway movies: cool music, a music clip feeling, hard rock cafes, violence and cheap lust, passing road markings. I think it's a good strategy for this movie: it's the atmosphere from this glaring movies you would normally consider as cool "trash" and you might expect Dennis Hopper appearing. But this time the scenery will enclose a plot that will not give you just an amazing story, some thrills or good "sounds & visuals", but a real punch in the gut.

As said before: this movie is depressing. It's surely not the best selection if you plan to have a popcorn movie session with your friends (well, it depends on you).

If you are interested in the topic of child abuse or if you are convinced that arts are not just for entertainment and escapism, but may confront yourself with oppressive themes of the real life, you might want to watch this one.