Maldito Coração

J.T. LeRoy or Laura Albert or whoever wrote the collection of stories that created Jeremiah would probably take umbrage with Screenwriter/Director Asia Argento for turning Jeremiah's life of abuse and angst into a biography of Sarah, the mother who gave birth to Jeremiah at age 14 only to relinquish him to foster homes while she lead her life as a truck stop lizard and drug addict. While Asia Argento has impressive credentials as both actress and filmmaker in Italy, her on screen performance in this self-directed film is excessively focused on her and leaves the child of the stories as a mere sidebar.

Much of the story line that ran through the book has been abandoned, probably due to the fact that few child actors could be asked to enact the bizarre and distorted things that Jeremiah did. Gone is the cross-dressing, the prostitution, and much of the other behavioral defects that peppered the pages of the novel. Instead we see a child claimed from a satisfactory foster home by a mother who jumps from one abusive lover to the next, leaving Jeremiah to fend for himself by eating out of garbage cans, living in slums and being at the beck and call of Sarah's consistently disgusting paramours. When Jeremiah is raped by one of Sarah's men he is sent to live with his crazed Bible belt grandparents where he is brainwashed into a zealot along with his cousins. He eventually is 're-rescued' by Sarah and once again the pointless existence presses on. There is no ending as there were/are further books to come.

Asia Argento creates a fairly one-dimensional portrait of Sarah, that of a wasted bit of scum obedient only to her libido and drug needs. Yes, she fled from her parent's religious suffocation, but other than that we have no insight as to her behavior. The boys who portray Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett, Cole and Dylan Sprouse) are just a bit too scrubbed and proper for the role and again we see little in the way of depth of character as Argento adapted the book. There are very brief bit parts by a number of fine actors (one wonders why they wanted to do this) such as Kip Pardue (as buff as you'll ever see him!), Winona Ryder, Michael Pitt, Peter Fonda, Marilyn Mason, Ben Foster, Jeremy Renner, and Jeremy Sisto but their appearances are strong despite the fleeting seconds in which they inhabit the screen.

The 'form follows function' rule certainly applies here: the story is shot is choppy, rancid colored, disorienting pieces that follow the style of the storytelling. The music is, well, loud and for the most part covers the dialogue (not always a bad thing). This is an 'art film' and one that takes patience to endure, but considering the great hoopla that accompanied the discovery of the 'J.T LeRoy' scandal, it probably merits watching. For this viewer the film should have just been called 'Sarah - a tour de force for Asia Argento'. Incidental information: the opening of the DVD is a multi-actor plea for support for ONE.org, a group of actors speaking out against poverty. It proves to be the most inspiring part of the disc! Grady Harp

The dysfunctional twenty-three years old Sarah (Asia Argento) takes her six years old natural son Jeremiah from the home of his beloved foster parents with the support of the social service to live with her. Along the years, the boy shares her insane and lowlife style and is introduced to booze and drugs and mentally, physically and sexually abused by Sarah, her lovers and her religiously fanatic family.

"The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" has one of the most sad, depressive, cruel and unpleasant story that I have ever seen in a movie. It is realistic and dramatic, showing a North America of losers and perverts, and not the usual land of dreams of most Hollywood movies. Asia Argento is amazing directing, writing the screenplay and acting, in the role of the vulgar and cheap Sarah, honoring the blood and names of her father Dario Argento and her mother Daria Nicolodi. The boys Jimmy Bennett, Dylan and Cole Sprouse have also magnificent interpretations in the role of the suffered Jeremiah. Unfortunately there are users that confuse an unpleasant story with a bad film, writing bad reviews because they did not like the movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Maldito Coração" ("Damned Heart")

I watched The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. I had never heard of it and apparently there was a lot of controversy surrounding the book. It seems it was a bit of a James Frey hoax thing but I really did like James Freys book and will be getting this one as soon as I'm not poor anymore, lol.

OK back to the movie...........

There is nothing 'good' in this movie, it was a breath taking, horrific piece of film. It will take a strong constitution to be able to watch it. It's not something that everyone could handle and is a topic I generally avoid like the plague for the sake of my sanity, but I think it should be seen or read by everyone. It's child abuse displayed in some of the most harrowing heartbreaking scenes I have ever watched in a movie.

It's about a child called Jeremiah who was born to his 15 year old mother then fostered as a very young child by a family who loved him as every child needs and deserves to be loved. When he was 7 his mother returned to claim him and we see how fecking brutal some people are when it comes to being parents, in fact she was brutal as a human. I'm sure I will be the only person on the planet who could feel sorry for his mother but I have to admit I did. She was a mental case first and foremost and needed help.

We see Jeremiah being treated in the most awful ways by his mother and his various 'new dads'. She gave her 7 yr old drugs she gave him to her boyfriends, she gave him away again, when she had enough of him, to her absolutely cuckoo religious zealot parents. I couldn't decide if it was worse to be treated the way he was when he was with his mother, with no way of knowing who to blame or if it was worse to be treated horrendously in the name of God.

He spent three years with his grandparents in their cult like lives until his 'mother' decided she wanted him back. We see the return of the cycle of abuse, neglect and tear inducing living that the now 10 year old child has to go through.

There is no feel good factor to this movie. There is no happy ending, no forgiveness and no redemption. There are no epiphanies for any of the abusers and no relief for a child that was born to another damaged child.

I got so fecking angry while watching this and I cried my heart out for the fictional child of the movie but more for the children of the world that live the life Jeremiah did and no one does a fecking thing to save or protect them.

I hate to see children treated like they have no rights, I hate that people actually believe a child has no rights. I hated this film as I was supposed to and I recommend everyone else give themselves the chance to hate it too.

I have a copy of it here and feel like buying enough to give a copy to everyone that I know. I want everyone else to watch it. It is a movie that needs to be talked about for days with someone else. It needs to be discussed, dissected and despised.

Karma. x

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.