Synopsis taken from IMDB
Jamie Morgan, a young man with a large heart-shaped birthmark on his face, discovers that there are demons on the streets of East London.
Faustian tale starring Jim Sturgess (The Other Boleyn Girl and 21) as a man, Jamie Morgan, suffering through life with a birth deformity. Oh yeah, he also randomly spots demons that look like reptiles and sound like bobcats. Sturgess has a wonderfully innocent and sympathetic look about him that makes you feel for his character in most of the movies I’ve seen him in. This film’s story, however, is a bit disjointed and moves rather slowly. The director, Philip Ridley, tries to capture the psychological aspect of the story through several of the characters. Unfortunately, it just comes across as a mix of Westside Story (the street gang’s costumes) meets The Matrix (the little Indian girl that guides Jamie) meets Saw (the graphic “pay up” kitchen scene).
It is sprinkled with British actors that you will recognize, but I would be surprised if you knew any of their names. The film has a little bit of a bipolar disorder in that it’s not sure which direction or mood it wants to take. It strives to be a drama, a love story, a psychological thriller and in some ways a fable. There are even some attempts at humor, but I never really got the jokes. There just isn’t enough development to ever feel connected to the characters in any of these scenarios.
I am a big fan of thrillers, but I’m afraid this one didn’t find a way to thrill me. There were a few intense scenes, but not enough to overcome the weak story-line. My Random Review for Heartless is a thumbs down.
