Film Review: Heaven Knows What
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Simply put, Heaven Knows What is a film by the Ben and Joshua Safdie about a young girl, Harley, who is dumped by her seemingly on-and-off-again boyfriend, Ilya. After a loving decision to try and get his attention, she proceeds to try to find love in ALL the wrong places. This is the scariest film I have seen so far this year! From the very beginning the Safdie Brothers do not let you from their grasp (even when the credits roll at the end). They remind us that this a lifestyle that never ends, and we don’t even know how it started. It just happened.
Arielle Holmes’ performance as Harley, and even all the supporting cast, feel dramatic and true… because they are. The Sadfie Brothers began researching another film when they came across Arielle Holmes’ story, Mad Love In New York City, which is a true account of her life in the streets of Manhattan that hadn’t been published at the time. This was about a year ago. Since then, they teamed up and starred Arielle Holmes who is essentially playing a part of herself. This gritty tale of love and drugs is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It feels real from the beginning, has a grey color palette and feeling throughout you can’t shake away.
There is a beautiful moment in the film where Arielle is speaking with drug-dealer-friend Mike. They have a moment and he asks her if she wants something more. Heaven knows what the answer to that question is. Arielle Holmes is essentially able to tell her personal story and act as she did when living on the streets. Her eyes are so big on screen; we can see how much she longs for love while simultaneously longing for heroin. It just feels real, and that’s why it’s so scary. The film, in fact, thanks the real person Ilya. There is so much heart and truth here.
Heaven Knows What made me squirm and cringe unlike any other film has made me feel before. We are stuck with Harley from the very beginning as she makes love to Ilya on the concrete floor. We only see her face. Ilya has the same effect on her as these drugs she and her friends are so resourceful in acquiring. From stealing to bumming, we see a part of Manhattan that’s never revealed on screen. Step aside, Girls.
Cinematographer Price Williams, employing a documentary aesthetic in this film shot on location in the middle of Manhattan, does an exemplary job photographing the youth.The authenticity of the performances and photography both enhance each other, grounding everything in a dark world that I truly felt.
This film captures the life of a forgotten, homeless youth we hardly see. Whether cast out at a young age, or slapped in the face by life, they are trapped. The brother’s cast used few actors with actual residents of this world, only adding to the immersive feel. I felt everyone in the film belonged. With very well composed frames, I felt trapped in this world too.
While this is a story, it is not traditional. I find this to be more of an intimate character study. The Safdie Brothers spend their time focusing on the style and the emotion, which is very apparent from the first frame. The wonderful synth song choice only adds to the eerie, hypnotic quality of Ariel and the homeless youth’s lifestyle. Hardstyle songs amp up the raging, fun and intensity. Slower synth ballads invite us to truly dark times. All these elements come together nicely like any great work should! Heaven Knows What is one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year and the best drug film, particularly about addicts of this kind, since Requiem for a Dream. I even find it hard to place these films together because while they are clearly about drug addicts, Heaven Knows What takes a more intimate approach following one person (for the most part). I have not seen any of the other Safdie Brother’s films, but I can tell you I’m ready for the next one!
This year we’ve all had the pleasure of being graced with films with very strong female characters and independent women. From French teenage girls in Girlhood, humanoids in Ex Machina, to the badasses in Mad Max: Fury word it has been wonderful. Heaven Knows What takes a refreshing, honest approach looking at a woman who we see at a low point in her life. The Safdie Brothers trap you in a world that Harley can’t escape. Only Heaven knows what she needs to get out…
Heaven Knows What opens 5/29 at the Arclight Hollywood and Sunshine Cinema in New York City.
4 Stars (out of 4)
@Spagettit
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