As an audience we all grow more cynical and demanding, the more films that we see. Our expectations are constantly being upgraded and shifted to new levels of anticipation. I really did not expect 'Untamed Heart' to have quite the same impact today, as it did when I first saw it. I was wrong. I still cried. It's still the most heart warming, feel good, romantic comedy I've ever seen.
For those who are not familiar with the story, Christian Slater plays the part of the mysterious Adam who works as a busboy in a diner. All his life he's never physically come into contact with people, and he never speaks. You could say he lives in his own magic kingdom, hermetically sealed from the outside world-so much so that at the age of 26, he still believes in a fairy tale the nuns told him when he was growing up in an orphanage, involving magic rubies trickling down from a magic mountain, and being given a 'baboon heart.' Later, he even admits to possessing 'magic' records that he plays 'whenever the world doesn't agree with him.'
In real life it would be hard not to raise a smile at such an account, or at the very least be convinced the person was in need of some serious medication, but it's a testament to the power of the story that like Caroline(portrayed by the Marisa Tomei) rather then dismiss him, we start accepting his childlike understanding of the world. We overlook it when at the start of the film, Caroline asks him questions and he doesn't even respond. Anybody else would consider that plain rude. We forgive him when he creeps into Caroline's bedroom to watch her sleeping. We understand when he follows her home repeatedly, keeping at a safe distance to remain undetected. The reason we're able to make such adjustments, is that normal rules here do not apply, because in the world that he lives in, it's not inhabited by mere humans. He still occupies that fantastic world that we so readily discarded as children, because we had to embrace the darker reality of adulthood in order to cope with our new responsibilities. So Adam's character, while undoubtedly naive, offers no real threat. As an audience, we know where he's coming from. He's simply trying to make sense of the world around him, and does not understand how to behave any different.
Gradually, over the course of the film Caroline brings out more and more from Adam, and because of his unique perspective and vantage point, some of the things he says and does to convince Caroline of his love for her remain long after the credits roll.
If we've ever had our heart broken and as a result we try to 'tame' our heart so we don't get hurt again, this is the film we should watch, because it reminds us what love is, and what love can be. Any hurt that we may have felt is nothing compared to the joy we feel when we do get it right.
