HEAVY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 8.0 Alternative Scale: ***1/2 out of ****
United States, 1995 Release date: beginning 6/96 (limited) Running Length: 1:45 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Profanity, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Pruitt Taylor Vince, Liv Tyler, Deborah Harry, Shelley Winters,
Joe Grifasi, Evan Dando
Director: James Mangold
Producer: Richard Miller
Screenplay: James Mangold
Cinematography: Michael Barrow
Music: Thurston Moore
U.S. Distributor: C/FP Distribution
The characters of James Mangold's debut feature, HEAVY, are the flotsam and jetsam of life -- men and women left scattered and forgotten on the beach of Pete and Dolly's Restaurant, a Hudson Valley roadhouse where a smile is just about the last thing anyone expects to see. No one here is happy or well-adjusted. Each character has problems, some of which we're told very little about, but the common denominator is that they all view life as something to be endured rather than experienced.
The roadhouse is owned and run by Dolly Modino (Shelley Winters), an aging woman with a variety of health difficulties. Dolly spends much of her time reminiscing about the past when her husband was still alive. For her, the present is almost as unpromising as the future. Delores (Deborah Harry) is a frumpy waitress who has engaged in a fifteen-year war of words with Dolly. Life-weary and looking for a little affection, Delores drifts from day-to-day, not seeming to care what comes next. Leo (Joe Grifasi) is Pete and Dolly's most loyal customer, a perpetually drunk loser who hangs around the roadhouse hoping that Delores will agree to take him home. Callie (Liv Tyler) is the new employee, a college dropout in need of money who is saddled with a loutish boyfriend and may or may not be pregnant.
Then there's Victor (Pruitt Taylor Vince), the film's protagonist. Painfully shy and convinced that his overweight condition makes him unattractive, Victor lives in the shadow of his mother, Dolly. He's the restaurant's cook and the object of Delores' affection. But, with the arrival of Callie, Victor finds something to brighten up his days. He is instantly smitten with her, and, when she has a few kind words for him and seems interested in a friendship, Victor is eager to oblige. Nevertheless, his feelings for Callie, which are clearly not reciprocated on the same level, will seemingly lead to inevitable heartbreak.
Where FORREST GUMP was the fantasy, HEAVY is the reality. Victor is a Gump-like character -- slow-witted and likable. However, while Robert Zemeckis' 1994 blockbuster gave us a triumphant fairy tale, HEAVY gives us a near-tragedy. Forrest got Jenny; the closes Victor comes to winning Callie is in his fantasies. Writer/director Mangold never compromises the integrity of his painfully-intense script. There isn't one crowd-pleasing moment in the entire movie, except perhaps the last scene, which offers a flicker of hope.
Much of HEAVY is about communication, or, more appropriately, the lack thereof. Circumstances and choice have created walls of isolation around each of the characters. At times, their inability to break through these barriers is maddeningly frustrating -- much as it was in 1992's UN COEUR EN HIVER, the French film about a man who suppresses all of his feelings. In HEAVY, we sense that Victor would like to express himself, except he either doesn't know how or is so insecure about himself that the fear of rejection keeps him quiet.
Dialogue is sparse in HEAVY, so it's left up to the actors to form and develop their characters with mannerisms and facial expressions instead of scripted lines. Considering that the cast is not made up of "great" names, this is a daring move by Mangold. Fortunately, it pays off, largely due to a gargantuan performance by Pruitt Taylor Vince (NOBODY'S FOOL), who creates a heartwrenchingly sympathetic man we can't help caring about. Deborah Harry is also good, giving us the kind of waitress who would have made FRANKIE AND JOHNNY a memorable movie. Liv Tyler (STEALING BEAUTY) gets by more on looks than ability, but she has her moments. And Shelley Winters is refreshingly low-key.
HEAVY is not the kind of film to view when you're looking for something upbeat. It's too real, and, as a result, potentially too painful. On the way out of the theater, I heard someone remark, "Why did I just sit through that film? I've lived that story, and I don't need to be put through it again!" Mangold captures the nuances of life perfectly, and, by never cheapening his vision through facile resolutions, he fashions a memorable cinematic portrait. Ultimately, HEAVY's considerable weight has little to do with what the scale says when Victor steps onto it.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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