Writer-director Kerem Sanga tries to goose his movie's energy. 2023 METACRITIC, A FANDOM COMPANY. 2,200, This story has been shared 2,148 times. But when deeply buried secrets of their small town are revealed, violent events of the past threaten to tear the couple apart. 825, This story has been shared 772 times. Regal And it's certainly not just because she's female and he's male. And then Fate arrives to amp up the tension with relentless artificiality, shotgunning plausibility out the window into the road where its trampled by stampeding lemmings, then squashed by a fallen blimp. The writer and director, Kerem Sanga, has created a world for his characters where messy relationships abound. Even Aaron feels the grief of losing a sibling he never met. The age gap reverberates in a different way between Daniel and his much-younger brother (Jahi DiAllo Winston), who misinterprets his own family because he wasnt alive to see it fall apart. Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Most of the women were 35-54 years old. IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Only 1 left in stock - order soon. Why not release the anxieties that are already swirling through every scene? Just confirm how you got your ticket. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. To the extent race enters the mix at all, its in the background detectable in an occasional look of wariness that crosses the young mans eyes. For the majority of its running time, The Violent Heart appears to have more in common with the sullen indie romances of today than it does with the star-crossed theatrics of yesteryear. Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. Get it Dec 20 - 21. Mary J. Blige brings the weight of painful life experience to her role as Daniels mother, and Lukas Haas at least has fun playing Cassies father, a role that makes so little sense you may still be laughing about it a day later. But it settles for coming across as the Official Version of the storythe one thatthe characters' descendants will tell two generations later, conscious of not wanting to embarrass anyone by getting into the ugly truth of what went down. $9.99. Why boil the pot with that brutal shooting up front, then relegate it to the back burner? No MPAA rating. Fifteen years later, Daniel lives at home with his mom and teen brother Aaron. In addition, Jordan Preston Carter briefly appears as the young Daniel who witnesses his sister's murder. violent And for the people who have already watched that film, The Little Things, some could use the ending explained. 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Jovan Adepo (" Fences ," "Overlord") plays Daniel, a 24-year-old trying to get into the Marines in order to escape his small town and put his tragic family past behind him. [4], Principal photography began in February 2019. You're almost there! The Violent Heart is a good movie; one that gets away with several murders even when its characters are gripped by them for decades on end. The Violent Heart is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Kerem Sanga. The Violent Heart is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Kerem Sanga. 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He picks up Aaron and she walks in on her father acting suspiciously with a woman who very much isnt her mother. Kerem Sanga wrote and directed, and for his next feature, he should definitely direct, but he might consider farming out the writing to any random person on the street. When Will 'New Amsterdam' Season 3 Be On Netflix? . Cut to 15 years later, when Daniel (Jovan Adepo) is trying to keep his residual anger over his sisters killing at bay. The Violent Heart. Joseph (Lukas Haas) teaches English there, and his 18-year-old daughter Cassie (Grace Van Patten), a senior, is one of his students. by Gary Oldman DVD . Is it a coming-of-age movie? Adepos implosive performance is arresting even when hes trying to find a way for Daniel to slip out of this entire situation, and Van Patten a singular talent whos been one role away from going supernova ever since Tramps finds hidden depths to Cassie that dont get a chance to surface on their own (it feels like the lovers talk more via text than they do in person). The Violent Heart lies somewhere between a chasm that divides soft-peddled melodrama and Young Adult fiction.It's unlikely director/writer Kerem Sanga intended the story to be categorized as either melodramatic or Young Adult.. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba. Families who watch together can discuss everything from race and incarceration to honesty between parents and teens; themes include compassion, empathy, and perseverance. VOD release The Violent Heart seems destined to be lost in the shuffle. Available on STARZ, Philo, Prime Video, iTunes, Hulu Fifteen years after the murder of his older sister, Daniel is falling for Cassie, a vivacious high school senior. A man who witnessed the murder of his sister tries to rebound in this subtle melodrama. The great pleasure of The Violent Heart lies in discovering what kind of movie it actually is. P.S : If you'd like to stay connected with us on a long-term basis . Writer-director Kerem Sanga has a knack for delivering arresting, noir-like visuals, especially from medium- and long-shot distance, and the talented cast gamely tries to sell the material, but The Violent Heart is so muddled there are times we have to remind ourselves of the connection between certain characters, and the histrionics so over the top were hoping everyone will just take a deep breath and CALM THE HECK DOWN. Ultimately, The Violent Heart's tragic aspects make it difficult to watch, but it's worth the effort because of the cast. Secrets are kept, often with good reason. Recipients of grants will receive up to $7,500. Director Kerem Sanga may not be working at quite the same level, but his stirring new film pays effective tribute to the likes of "Magnificent Obsession" and "A Place in the Sun" through . Melancholy, mature drama explores father-son themes. When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Copyright Fandango. Well, its not really a suspicion; its pretty obvious he WILL resurface. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. 7,496, This story has been shared 2,200 times. What Movies Will It Remind You Of? He also has a police record, for beating up a guy in a fight he didnt start. Will 'The Kardashians' Return for Season 3 on Hulu? The Illinois State Rifle Association lawsuit appears to be the first in federal court to challenge Illinois new weapons ban, but it is part of a burgeoning legal effort aimed at undoing the new law. Related This is not to say that its not entertaining in a way, its even more entertaining for being insanely ridiculous. Nightmare Film Shoots: The Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from 'Deliverance' to 'Mad Max' to 'Avatar 2'. Cassie is an 18-year-old who has had her fill of high school. Maybe itd draw more eyeballs if Netflix or Amazon had picked it up or maybe theres a reason a big streamer didnt snatch it up? The retired center teamed with Gabby Williams of the WNBAs Seattle Storm to beat former Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton and Spanish tennis player David Ferrer in a basketball game on the famed clay of Court Philippe-Chatrier. Find where to watch movies online now! The Violent Hearts transformation from well-meaning drama to Something Else left me cold. Your privacy is important to us. Now playing in theaters and available on demand. And then he meets Cassie (Grace Van Patten), a high school student who must have been 3 at the time of the crime. We cant possibly know where their connection will take the two, and that open-endedness is whats best about the movie. The Violent Heart, available on video on demand starting Friday, Feb. 19, is a combination love story/thriller about a 24-year-old Black man and an 18-year-old white girl who is still in high school. But the big qualifying but that I must wield like a warning of thin ice ahead might be too much to bear. Where did they hide the clues? Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. She repliesto reports of incidents that shattered his self image and wounded his soul with counter-examples of bad stuff that just happened to her. Researchers found that young women who experience heart attacks are more commonly known to have a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, and stroke compared to men of the same age. Still, she starts to act out, skipping school and responding to the roar of Daniels motorcycle like a straitlaced Natalie Wood in Rebel Without a Cause. Per the press notes, Sanga had that movie in mind when justifying the overripe parental showdowns still in store the contrivances required to pull off an ending that drives a stake through the peaceful yet passionate heart of whats come before. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. High school senior Cassie (Grace Van Patten) is an only child who's so close to her father, Joseph (Lukas Haas), that she doesn't mind the fact that he's also her English teacher. Be the first to review this title. Turns out (without saying too much), the film isnt so interested in bias or bigotry. It had its world premiere at the Deauville Film Festival on September 9, 2020. Related Cassie is naturally starting to drift apart from Joseph and her mother Rose (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) in preparation for leaving the nest, and the tension is amplified when she returns to school from her first long afternoon with Daniel (who fixed her vehicle at the local garage where he works as a mechanic) and catches her father in what might be a compromising moment with a teacher (they both seem flustered as the teacher lets herself out of Daniel's classroom). Dana Wynter and Ben Gazzara starred. Devastated to discover her father may not be the man she thought he was, Cassie reaches out to Daniel and a tender romance blossoms. Crack, sploosh, glub glub. Daniel sees his sister sneak out the door and follows to a dark, secluded spot in the woods, where she is killed. Powerful Stories About Martin Luther King Jr. Festive Lunar New Year Activities for Kids and Teens, Drama Movies That Tug at the Heartstrings. Nearly 20 years after a CTA experiment with bus surveillance cameras failed miserably, Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to try it again and then some in a designated downtown area. Its a sturdy, middle-of-the-road drama with shades of mystery and suspense, strong performances, assured direction and seemingly very little space in the current streaming-content traffic jam. Opens Friday at Emagine Frankfurt and on demand. Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Before he met Cassie, he was a curled fist, ready to smash at the unfair world around him, to take his revenge, perhaps. Sex and Skin: Kissing! Together, the couple begins to talk through their pasts, finding unexpected common ground. This is not to say that it's not entertaining in a way, it's even more entertaining for being insanely ridiculous. Okay I'll stop there. This movie keeps getting close to full self-awareness and raw honesty about its characters' predicaments(never more so than when Daniel marvels bitterly at Cassie's ability to see the silver lining in every cloud) only to shrug it off and keep moping in mutedwidescreen. Lukas Haas plays Cassies father, Joseph, a hipster English teacher at Cassies school who has his daughter in his class, which seems problematic, and has lunch with her every day in the cafeteria, which seems kinda sad for Cassie. It announces Van Patten and Adepo as talents to watch, and Sanga as a director of ability just so long as he resists the impulse to write. Classic Hollywood melodramas often soldered together by strained coincidences and Shakespearian twists of fate depended on that eternal truth of high-key storytelling almost as much as they did on the celluloid required to shoot them. Gravitas Ventures will release The Violent Heart on VOD on Friday, February 19. Shes like one of the Booksmart characters, minus an equally precocious bestie to amplify her wit. The scenes between Daniel and his family are heartbreaking, because it's clear that their family is still grieving the loss of the oldest daughter/sister. Hes 24, lives with his mother (Mary J. Blige) and teenage brother Aaron (Jahi DiAllo Winston, who was terrific in Charm City Kings), and hopes to join the Marines like his father. I struggled mightily with this film. 'He was my heart:' Loved ones remember life of I-75 crash . Sanga should have trusted this couple to steer the plot, instead of imprisoning them in it. [2] In January 2019, Mary J. Blige, Lukas Haas, Jahi Di'Allo Winston and Kimberly Williams-Paisley joined the cast of the film. One plot point that could have easily changed is the initially uncomfortable age difference between Daniel and Cassie. Though he led his country against Germany toward the end of World War I, he did so only after resisting war as the preferred option. Sangas film is gripping for how it uses old scars to expose the pain of fresh wounds and vice-versa, and swirls complex weather systems of inherited and/or systemic violence into white squalls of new wrath. The Gist: Young Daniel (Jordan Preston Carter) tinkers in the garage, fine-tuning his dirt bike. One night, Daniel watches as Wendy climbs into a car he doesnt recognize. Coming Soon. Daniels rage has been welling inside of him since the fateful night of his sisters murder, while Cassies only starts to seep in through a sudden crack in the hull after school one day. 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. Good movies can get away with murder, while bad movies cant get away with anything. (This isnt entirely their fault, as the screenplay gives Daniel just a few notes to play mostly variations on anger while Cassie is little more than a cipher.). 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