Heartless (2009)

I really loved this movie (and I still do, but)– just trust your own feelings about the character/story and don't turn on the audio commentary. It will ruin the movie for you since it makes perfectly clear that Philip Ridley clearly does not understand the character he is trying to portray, Ridley clearly belongs to the crowd that make Jaime's life a living hell. I don't argue that we all are bad, because we all are humans and mankind is a disgusting, brutal, reckless creation, but this does not mean that Jamie is a bad guy like the others. This is making the victim the bad guy. Nothing that Jamie does (especially nothing that he does by his own will/unmotivated by others or the circumstances) is nearly as mean as the people bullying him because of something he did not choose. And it is not in the last second that Jamie „realizes" that the world is beautiful, unlucky persons like Jamie are absolutely aware that life CAN be beautiful – just not for them, that is for people who are screwed from their birth on, by the wrong looks, the wrong parents, the wrong genes, curses that allow you not a single chance etc. . And it is people like Philip Ridley who do not understand them at all and are trying to turn them bad in order to have a justification for their bad luck – shame on you, Mr. Ridley (the only person who is definitely heartless is you, Philip Ridley). What is true, though, is that the world is not fair at all, and people like Philip Ridley with obviously better luck and little understanding of what it means to live on the other side support this situation. And it is true that Jamie wants to die, but actually what he really wants is (like he says) to be happy, be normal, have a chance to a normal happy life like other people with better luck, just: he does not get this chance, never, and nothing Jamie has ever done or will ever do will justify that HE is denied this chance. He is NOT the bad guy and with nothing does he deserve his fate, it is unfair and turning him into a „demon" does not change/justify this, Mr. Ridley, live with it and don't make it worse. And since Jamie is ever denied any chance, the only salvation (from his unlucky fate) he can get is dying, but it is not what he truly wants, he just won't ever get anything else. Maybe Mr. Ridley should rather make films about pretty teens partying all night, looks like this is the world he knows something about instead of being dialectic and doing victims of this deeply unfair world further injustice (in order to come to grips with the injustice, but you can't, that's the point about injustice, it just is unjust, no need to blame the victim).

English screenwriter, author and director Philip Ridley's third feature film which he wrote, premiered at the 9th London Fright Fest Film Festival in 2009, was shot on locations in London, England and is a United Kingdom production which was produced by producers Pippa Cross and Richard Raymond. It tells the story about a photographer named Jaime Morgan who lives with his mother in an area of London where the residents are disturbed by a terrorizing gang of youths who are wearing hoods. Jaime spends some of his time with his 17-year-old nephew named Lee and his older brother who runs a studio, but Jaime is somewhat alienated due to a distinct mark in his face and disenchanted by the world he lives in. One day he notices a picture of a model named Tia whom he takes a liking to, but then something happens.Distinctly and finely directed by British filmmaker Philip Ridley, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated mostly from the protagonist's point of view, draws a instantly intriguing and heartrending portrayal of a shy man with a heart-shaped birthmark across his left eye who after beginning to see strange skeleton-like faces in his photographs and being attacked by a gang whilst on his way home with his mother, is contacted by a man who offers him a life-altering deal. While notable for it's colorful and atmospheric milieu depictions, sterling production design by production designer Ruby Eyres, cinematography by cinematographer Matt Gray, make up by make-up artist Jaqueline Fowler and use of light, this character-driven story depicts an in-depth study of character and contains a great score by English composer David Julyan.This modestly romantic and horror-ish drama which is set in East London, England in the late 2000s and where a man who wishes to become "normal" misses his father and has a feeling of living parallel lives, is impelled and reinforced by it's fragmented narrative structure, substantial character development, philosophical undertones, various characters and the fine acting performances by English actor Jim Sturgees and French actress Clémence Poséy. A dramatic, surreal, existentialistic and atypical thriller which for the exception of a few scenes which becomes a bit comical and without exaggerating use of violence, manages to create a significant sense of horror.

I give this movie a 7. I think the acting was decent, Jim Sturgess was actually quite good. The story is an ageless one but a rather good one, but I don't want to give away too much.Basically, Jamie Morgan is a guy with a giant heart shaped birth mark across his face. He is shy, avoids eye contact with people, and wears a hoodie whenever he is in public. Eventually the movie asks the question, what would you do, how far would you go to erase a disfigurement, etc.Now, here is the problem that blows away 3 stars from me. If I hadn't had anything else to do while this movie was going I would have shut it off halfway through. The first half was boring and takes way too much time laying the foundation about how hard Jamie's life is with his birth mark. It took along time to get to the better parts of the movie and the whole story, and by then the film makers could have lost a lot of their audience. I liken it to why most people don't raise livestock in their backyard these days. Yes bacon is wonderful and tastes delicious, but who really wants to waste all the time and effort of raising the darn pig for so long just to get a few nice pieces of bacon. Also there is some real poor special effects make-up later in the movie as it concerns a certain character.So, after around half way the story begins to get very interesting with a nice twist or two. Let's just say their is a price to pay in order to have his 'blemish' removed and it is not a monetary one.If you can bear with this one until the halfway point, it does end up being a decent movie.Like my reviews? Hate em? Comments, good or bad? Is there a DVD you want reviewed, shoot me an e-mail at : [email protected]

Philip Ridley is primarily a play write, and this is without doubt presented in Heartless. You can almost see in every moment of dialogue the preachy speeches, the moral values defended by Nikita Mistry's character - Belle, almost acting like a chorus. I liked this, but it grew tiresome for me because I like reality within film. For those who don't know, this is briefly based around Marlow's Doctor Faustus, or the German Faust folklore. It is the idea of a polymath, a renaissance all rounder who wants to transcend earthly limitations by selling is soul to Lucifer for 24 years of a life of necromancy. Visually, considering the budget, it's a masterpiece that I admire for being bold and exceeding my expectations, however, it was hard to see past this considering the 'hit and miss' aspect of the story. I'm almost at a loss for words so I can only call it 'corny.' It tries to be a horror, yet there is an underlining dreadful moral aspect that would be okay, but it's far too forward, and far too off putting to enjoy. My main criticism is the pace of the story, paired with the severe lack of ability to empathise or sympathise with the lead character, or any of the other characters. Yes, it's meant to represent the downfall of a man, brought upon by himself, but who is to say we can't admire the character, enjoy the road they take us on, and enjoy their ability to realise their wrong doings. I respect that some people did enjoy it, some didn't, because it truly shows the diversity of the audience and how some people can see what is meant to be seen, and some can't, almost like a reflection of the main character, he see's what he wants to see.