"The Heart... " is one of those films that comes along every blue moon and slaps the shit out of you with it's brutal honesty and real-life tragedies, taking you to the brink of tears as a child is abused to an uncomfortable easiness as he makes the best of his circumstances. Tenderly exposing the miseducation of a young boy linked through fate with an anything but traditional upbringing, the film focuses upon that multi-faceted "love" which inspires the most intense emotions in all that makes up this world, exposing it in a unique and often times disturbing light. Although the film takes very bold actions in presenting child abuse scenarios that will have people shocked, appalled, and carrying on in patterns to rival the ethical conservative tiraids of the 700 Club, it effectively holds on to an innocence that remains, even in the darkest of times when wrongness is everywhere, and a love that grows between a mother and son.
The film has been adapted from the book by JT Leroy, a real-life tale of his personal experiences, that has had about as much in terms of credibility controversy as the recent Oprah debacle. But, since this is a review of the film, we will leave the discussion of rumors and truths for another time.
I respect the film for the reason that it depicts a troubled person without making moral judgments about her in the same way a documentary would capture her actions without deciding if they were right or wrong. Sarah (Asia Argento) regains custody of her son Jeremiah after he has lived several years in the home of a typically normal seeming foster family. Her maternal instincts are somewhat fogged by the drugs and alcohol that come with her prostitute lifestyle, but she initially tries the basics to get Jeremiah to warm up to her. He does not adjust to the change very well, so Sarah decides to take a very aggressive and unconventional approach with him. Through his journeys with her, the nature vs. nurture question is thoroughly explored as his life takes many dark turns.
It's difficult to go into the plot details without spoiling the film, and I'm sure if you are reading this you wouldn't want to know where it goes for the same reason you don't read the last page of a novel before you begin the first chapter. I'm confident when I say this film is not for everyone because even though it is just a movie it's not easy to sit and watch as a child is neglected and abused. But, if you look at the souls of these characters you will see characteristics that are extremely uncommon to film. Sarah is like someone's real life messed up mother who battles with her own past, hurts her own child, but during it all believes she is teaching him the way he needs to learn in order to survive because that is what her life has led her to think is necessary. We learn more about her past as the movie progresses, including how her father raised her and why she turned to a life of drugs and prostitution, and this knowledge is central to the films point that love can be the most deceitful thing above all by never really living up to what we want it to be.
Like many films that involve drug use, there are some sketchy visuals in the film including the reoccurring red-stained animatronic crows that haunt Jeremiah throughout his most difficult times. A scene involving talking pieces of coal that act out a mother punishing a baby is so disturbing I didn't know what to make of it. Also, because of the rampant abuse involving young Jeremiah, the camera had to be technically creative so that the scene was made without the film actually showing the extremely brutal and disgusting acts. There are a lot of them.
So moviegoers, beware. This is not the type of film you should go into expecting to have a good time because it's totally f'd up what they do to this kid. There will be many people who hate the movie, many many. Then there are those of you who will appreciate it for it's honesty on a subject that is usually watered down and sterilized. "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" is real, riveting, and unapologetic. It's a movie where what you see is what you get, and that is good enough for me.
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THE HEART IS DECEITFUL