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Heartless

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United Kingdom · 2009
Rated R · 1h 54m
Director Philip Ridley
Starring Jim Sturgess, Luke Treadaway, Clémence Poésy, Justin Salinger
Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller

Jamie lives in the East End of London, an area notorious for its violent gangs. He is a troubled young man with a birthmark on his face, which has left him feeling isolated and fearful, hiding from the world outside. Jamie's life takes a turn, however, when, one night, he discovers a terrifying truth.

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What are critics saying?

75

Entertainment Weekly by Clark Collis

Unpredictability isn't this horror film's strength, but it's stylishly crafted and excellently acted, and it boasts an abundance of heart in every sense of the word.

30

Chicago Reader by Cliff Doerksen

This is the art-house equivalent of a Clive Barker splatterfest, punctuated by mildly amusing stabs at Lynchian absurdity and compromised by an incoherent plot twist that would leave M. Night Shyamalan rolling his eyes.

40

Time Out by David Fear

We know how these bargains turn out, so all we're left to do is watch pretentious exchanges about grief pile up, laugh at the way the movie exploits its Indian-girl-as-innocence-personified notion and wish that Eddie Marsan's giddy cameo as Hell's personal weapons dealer were much, much longer.

70

Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein

This compelling psychological horror-thriller contains a tremendous amount of heart. That would be largely thanks to a moving and deeply sensitive lead performance by Jim Sturgess

60

Empire by Kim Newman

Effective jump-shocks and a strong turn from Eddie Marsan mask an over-complicated last act.

63

New York Post by Kyle Smith

A supernatural take on "Death Wish" meets "Faust," Heartless is an uneasy mixture of B-movie shocks, social commentary and sentimentality that shows a potent imagination at work.

60

The New York Times by Manohla Dargis

Best appreciated for its sustained creepy vibe and sporadically arresting images, Heartless moves from one outré moment to another, from one self-conscious allusion to the next ("Donnie Darko" and "Taxi Driver"). It doesn't go anywhere special or much of anywhere, though it goes there in appreciably icky style.

67

The A.V. Club by Nathan Rabin

Heartless gets progressively better as it goes along, and benefits from a poignant late cameo from Timothy Spall as Sturgess' beloved father, but it never recovers from a dull first hour.

55

NPR by Scott Tobias

Heartless seems eternally at war with its own genre, unwilling to succumb to bloody mayhem yet neither smart nor coherent enough to transcend horror convention.

67

Portland Oregonian by Stan Hall

Storywise, Heartless is a bit of a jumble, especially in its last third. But it's got a distinct tone, contrasting romance and even outright sentimentality with urban dread and a few nasty visuals.

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