The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)
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41% of critics liked it
(49 reviews) -
69% of users liked it
(9,221 ratings)
Actress and filmmaker Asia Argento directed this faithful screen adaptation of the fictional J.T. Leroy's fictional memoir, which documents a boy's truly harrowing road to adulthood. Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett) is the seven-year-old son of Sarah (Asia Argento), an unstable and unwed mother who… More Actress and filmmaker Asia Argento directed this faithful screen adaptation of the fictional J.T. Leroy's fictional memoir, which documents a boy's truly harrowing road to adulthood. Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett) is the seven-year-old son of Sarah (Asia Argento), an unstable and unwed mother who abandoned her son and left him to be raised by foster parents. Jeremiah has come to love his guardians, and is devastated when Sarah arrives at their doorstep, demanding her child back. Threatening Jeremiah with torture if he tries to run away, Sarah introduces her young son to drugs and encourages her one-night-stand paramours to help "discipline" her son when she feels his behavior is inappropriate. Sarah marries a man named Emerson (Jeremy Renner), but abandons him shortly afterward; Emerson responds by molesting Jeremiah, and soon the child is left in the care of his grandparents (Peter Fonda and Ornella Muti), members of a fundamentalist Christian sect which emphasizes child discipline that's strict to the point of abuse. After three years, Sarah returns with a new husband, Kenny (Matt Schulze), and takes Jeremiah (now played by Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse) with her; Kenny spends most of his time on the road as a trucker, and Sarah supports the family at home as a stripper and a prostitute. Sarah also begins dressing her son is girl's clothing, which excites the perverse appetites of Sarah's latest boyfriend, Jackson (Marilyn Manson); she soon leaves Jackson and pairs off with Chester (Jeremy Sisto), a biker with a dangerous way of making a living. The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the "Directors Fortnight" series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Asia Argento
- Written By
- Asia Argento, Alessandro Magania
- Genres
- Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Oct 8, 2004 Wide
- Studio
- Palm Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Reeks of a project desperate for edgy credibility.
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Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times
Argento's film is arguably exploitative, but its real-life horrors are effectively authentic.
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Tamara Straus, San Francisco Chronicle
Now the fabricated story of a boyhood that included abandonment, rape and near constant fear and humiliation is a movie. The result is unwatchable.
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Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Vile beyond redemption.
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Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
It's a taxing bit of exploitation, which, although you're glad to know it's a work of fiction, doesn't exactly make a case for itself as art.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Asia Argento
as Sarah
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Jimmy Bennett
as Young Jeremiah
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Dylan Sprouse
as Older Jeremiah
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Cole Sprouse
as Older Jeremiah
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Peter Fonda
as Grandfather
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Ben Foster
as Fleshy Boy
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Ornella Muti
as Grandmother
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Kip Pardue
as Luther
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Michael Pitt
as Buddy
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Jeremy Renner
as Emerson
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John Robinson (IX)
as Aaron
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Marilyn Manson
as Jackson
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Jeremy Sisto
as Chester
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Matt Schulze
as Kenny
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Lydia Lunch
as Social Worker
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Winona Ryder
as Psychologist
