Asia Argento stars as a newfangled Mommie Dearest in HEART IS DECEITFUL
THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS (Asia Argento, 2005)
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston St. between First & Second Aves.
Friday, May 6, and Saturday, May 7, 12 midnight
212-330-8182
www.landmarktheatres.com
www.heartisdeceitful.com
Asia Argento wrote, directed, and stars in this inspired adaptation based on the supposedly autobiographical novel by the recently exposed JT Leroy (a mysterious writer who turned out to be an elaborate creation of a former sex-phone operator). Argento, whose long resume includes a trio of films directed by her cult-fave father, Italian horrormeister Dario Argento, plays Sarah, a drug-addled loser who reclaims her seven-year-old son, Jeremiah (the frightfully good Jimmy Bennett), from his loving and well-off foster parents. Sarah, one of the worst mothers to ever grace the silver screen, mistreats the boy horribly again and again, even allowing her stream of dangerous and weird boyfriends (which include Michael Pitt, Marilyn Manson, and Jeremy Sisto) to do the same — and worse. At one point Jeremiah winds up living with his grandparents (Peter Fonda and Ornella Muti), religious nutcakes who harbor their own secrets. With pulsating original music by Marco Castoldi and Sonic Youth, brutal, fast-paced action, and leather-and-chains sadomasochism, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things is reminiscent of Alex Cox’s Sid & Nancy (1986), with a little bit of Mommie Dearest (Frank Perry, 1981) thrown in. Argento’s compelling vision, which will grow on you if you let it, is not for everyone; at times it’s lurid, graphic, and hard to watch, but it’s also got its share of breathtaking moments. Just try your best to forget about the literary hoax that gave birth to this sordid story in the first place.