The car needs work that will take overnight, so Cassie ends up asking Daniel for a ride back to the high school. By this point, Daniel has internalized his fury, which has gotten him in trouble before. Douglas Sirk and George Stevens linger in the collective imagination because they knew how to swing for the fences without making audiences cry foul. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba. Turns out (without saying too much), the film isnt so interested in bias or bigotry. No MPAA rating. Melancholy, mature drama explores father-son themes. His wariness is the product of having already experienced tragedy. 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. There aren't any reviews yet. 825, This story has been shared 772 times. 2023 METACRITIC, A FANDOM COMPANY. Optically brilliant, violent update of classic. Is it necessary to the story? The talented actor Jovan Adepo brings depth and warmth to "The Violent Heart," a pensive melodrama that otherwise never heats up. Devastated to discover her father may not be the man she thought he was, Cassie reaches out to Daniel and a tender romance blossoms. Should you stream or skip the drama-thriller #TheViolentHeart on VOD? But something sure seems off. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! 24 Famously Queer and Homoerotic Horror Movies, from 'Psycho' to 'Hellraiser' Thats a heck of a thing for a kid to witness, and its fascinating to catch up with the character 15 years later (played now by Jovan Adepo of Watchmen and The Stand). 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. 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. 2,148, This story has been shared 1,449 times. For 75 minutes or so, writer/director Kerem Sanga seems to be rooting around for a narrative foothold, but admirably sidestepping melodramatic cliches for the stuff of mundane realism you know, indie-film fodder about character and setting and the disappointments and tragedies we all understand are unavoidable elements of Life on Earth. Years later, Daniel (Jovan Adepo) is still dealing with the aftermath of this traumatic experience. How Edgar Allan Poe Inspired the Netflix Mystery, Gerard Butler Has Finally Found His Niche Making Dad Movies For Guys Who Might Not Even Be Dads Yet. Santa is ashamed of his past, pre-Santa life as a Viking who killed countless people with his hammer, Skullcrusher. What are your thoughts on the difficulties that formerly incarcerated individuals face when finding work and trying to turn their lives around? , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. (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.). When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. The Violent Heart is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Kerem Sanga. Blige, in her first dramatic film role since Mudbound, once again takes a fairly small part and magnifies its significance so well that it ties the whole movie together. She meets Daniel by chance when she drops by his auto-shop one day, and wins him over through sheer force of will. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. . Both romantic leads are as strong as the screenplay allows them to be, which is strong enough to make us care about them, even as the movie falls apart. "The Violent Heart" is an American television play broadcast on February 6, 1958, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. 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. Only 1 left in stock (more on the way). In other cases, its best just to accept the surprise and move on, salvaging what you can of the experience. 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. He spots his teenage sister, Wendy (Rayven Symone Ferrell), hustle out the door with a suitcase to a waiting car. Please enter your birth date to watch this video: You are not allowed to view this material at this time. Copyright Fandango. She believes in herself, and she believes in him too, and for the first time in ages, Daniel starts to unclench. But what The Violent Heart aspires to is at odds with what it is capable of achieving.There are some great performances here by Lukas . THE VIOLENT HEART starts off with a 9-year-old boy named Daniel following his 16-year-old sister when she sneaks out of the house. Shes a white high school senior and hes a Black 24-year-old ex-con working as a mechanic at the only place in town that will hire him, but those arent the differences that ultimately threaten to tear them apart. When the elusive melodrama "The Violent Heart" begins, Daniel is a child who idolizes his older sister Wendy (Rayven Symone Ferrell). Set in the rolling nowhere of rural Tennessee, Sangas twinkling Southern tragedy his first movie since 2016s excellent First Girl I Loved gives us a teenage girl with the world at her feet, an older boy with a lifetime of pain over his shoulder, and a synth-driven John Swihart score that swirls around them like a funnel of windswept leaves whenever they hold each other close enough to get hurt. The Violent Heart (1,126) 6.0 1 h 42 min 2021 X-Ray 18+ Fifteen years after his sister's senseless murder, Daniel finds himself falling for a vivacious high school senior named Cassie. Read full review by Ed McDonnell DVD . But then he meets Cassie (Grace Van Patten), a high school senior who is reeling from the discovery that her father (Lukas Haas) might be having an affair. Why not release the anxieties that are already swirling through every scene? It makes for a successful manipulation of his audiences expectations, even if the overall effect is a movie that feels slightly detached. Where Cassie figures out their past have alot of connections that will soon surface. Written and directed by Kerem Sanga, the story reveals itself in layers, unfolding first as a family drama, a meditation on grief, then a youthful romance, a suspense flick, and finally emerging fully formed as an effective thriller that unites each of these strands. Good movies can get away with murder, while bad movies cant get away with anything. But what's onscreen feels more like a hushed, emotionally constipated middle-American indie drama, where pretty much everybody is weighed down by the horrors of the past even though they go about their days in clueless innocenceor lie about everything being fine. 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. IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Related For all of its overtures of forbidden romance, The Violent Heart uses its love story as a muscle more than anything else, flexing around Daniel and Cassies potential future together until it feels strong enough to lift a weighty meditation on the way that we live with our anger. Sometimes, when a movie ends with a twist, it makes you want to rush back and rewatch the entire story to see how the filmmakers pulled it off. Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Other lawsuits have been filed in state court. Common Sense and other associated names and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN: 41-2024986). 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. If this one still bites off more than it can chew, its ambition nevertheless reaffirms Sanga as a skilled and emotionally sensitive filmmaker whos attuned to the low-frequency wavelengths that tend to get flattened out by stories with this kind of sweep. Ships from and sold by BullMoose. 'Masterpiece' Head Susanne Simpson Teases 'Sanditon' Season 3 Is Her "Favorite One" Yet, Millie Bobby Brown is a Sword-Wielding Dragon-Slayer in First Damsel Footage. The parents' guide to what's in this movie. He looks at her with warmth and uneasiness, while she has the perky, tempestuous energy of someone who could get a guy into serious trouble. #SIOSI. Cassie tells Daniel about her father; he expressed that she must really love her father because of how she speaks about him in such a high standard. Related The Violent Heart Review: Secrets and Lies, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/movies/the-violent-heart-review.html, Grace Van Patten and Jovan Adepo in The Violent Heart. Opens Friday at Emagine Frankfurt and on demand. by Gary Oldman DVD . Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus, and Mayhem in the USA: Season 1, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 1, Link to Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Link to Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2022, Link to 10 WTF Horror Movies to Watch if You Loved. Theres possibility in their chemistry, but the movie has decided their fate before its begun. It's unnecessary for Daniel to be 24; aging him at 21or 22 would still have been noticeable compared to Cassie but not borderline creepy. He ends up witnessing her murder. Directed by Kerem Sanga. The Violent Heart is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Kerem Sanga. That result is . All Rights Reserved. Sanga encourages his actors to underplay the rage and suspicion that lingers beneath their interactions, and he instead uses the movies electronic score to build a melancholy, even ominous mood. By creating an account, you agree to the Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Daniel sees his sister sneak out the door and follows to a dark, secluded spot in the woods, where she is killed. streaming The Violent Heart? 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). Even though we can feel the racial tension as subtext in a few scenes (particularly when mom and dad raise objections, and mom starts to say something like, "Also, he's" but doesn't finish) it seems unrealistic that nobody in this story would bring it up as text. with updates on movies, TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free. more. Are you sure you want to leave and cancel your review? John Frankenheimer directed. Sanga should have trusted this couple to steer the plot, instead of imprisoning them in it. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". What character strengths do the characters display? 2023 Variety Media, LLC. By Thom Ernst. The problem is that they seemingly have to tease out elements that are mostly glanced-over in the screenplayparticularly the racial dynamics of the relationship between Daniel and Cassie, and between Daniel's family and the town, which from all appearances is overwhelminglywhite. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. suggesting a diversity update. Ultimately, The Violent Heart's tragic aspects make it difficult to watch, but it's worth the effort because of the cast. white) suburban setting, and was so popular it was remade (by Sirk) and became a keyinspiration for Todd Haynes' 2005 Sirk tribute"Far from Heaven.". Recipients of grants will receive up to $7,500. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. Get it Dec 20 - 21. Coming Soon, Regal Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. Gravitas Ventures presents a film written and directed by Kerem Sanga. Against all odds, a redemptiveromance blooms betweenDaniel and Cassie (Grace Van Patten), an 18-year-old high school senior. The Violent Heart is unclear on what genre it wants to be. Plot. 2,200, This story has been shared 2,148 times. Starring: Jovan AdepoGrace Van PattenLukas Haas. Quiet and clenched and eager to follow his father into the Marines, he seems to be doing a pretty good job of it, but a jail stint on his record suggests that hasnt always been the case. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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