Rent Untamed Heart on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Tom Sierchio
Directed by: Tony Bill
Starring: Christian Slater, Marisa Tomei, Rosie Perez, Kyle Secor
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
A waitress hardly notices a shy busboy who secretly loves her; until one night she's attacked and he comes to her rescue. From there a relationship sparks but one secret could mean disaster for these fated lovers.
Verdict
It's a romance that wants to be sweet, but it's plagued by uncomfortable, dated tropes and an over eagerness to heighten the emotional impact of the love story at the center. The movie itself leans towards cliché with the strange bus boy and bubbly waitress falling for each other. It doesn't hurt that the weird kid is quite handsome. This relies heavily on that odd pairing fantasy as some of his actions are disturbing, though the movie presents them as devotion. Part of what makes this memorable is how emotionally manipulative it is.
It depends.
Review
Caroline (Marisa Tomei) works at a diner when she's not in beauty school. Her boyfriend recently broke up with her, and she's unaware that busboy Adam (Christian Slater) has a crush on her. One day two customers from the diner approach her after work. They were a little too eager while she waited on them, and now it's uncomfortable and only gets worse. They try to intimidate her and she begins running away. They catch up to her, and it's distressing as we know where it's going.
That's when Adam steps in to save the day, right at the last minute of course. The movie really stretched out the assault. Caroline had never noticed him before, but now Adam is her savior. She falls for him, slowing learning about his past and his heart condition.
 |
| Marisa Tomei, Christian Slater play Caroline, Adam |
It is strange that he followed her every night on her way home. While it's sweet in a way, it also approaches stalker territory. If you think that's bad, he later breaks into her house and puts a Christmas tree in her room. She likes the gesture, but that's some plot armor. We also learn he broke into her house to watch her sleep. That's creepy and criminal. While this wants to be this sweet love story, these actions make that difficult. If Caroline didn't find him cute, would she feel the same way?
Caroline brings Adam cookies on Christmas, and when she hears he's an orphan, she completely falls for him. The hurdle to their relationship is that he needs a heart transplant. Their romance is a tragedy in the making. The goal is to be a tearjerker, but there's not much to this movie past that. Even the development of the characters is shallow.
If Caroline didn't like him, she would find his actions more than objectionable. This could just as easily be a scary tale about a stalker. As it is, this ends in a way to maximize the emotional impact.
No comments :
Post a Comment