In recent years, independent films have gained momentum, and "Heather" turned out. Joseph Gordon Levitt subverts the performance and plays an unfettered mania. He caused trouble for the little boy's family, and at the same time used his sharp behavior and words to tell us the philosophy of life the director wanted to express.
Written in September 2011.
In the past two years, in the streamlined Hollywood of blockbuster films, independent films have gradually injected new vitality into films with their proud artistry. "Heather" is the first feature film of director Spencer Suther. This small-cost independent film with an investment of only 7 million has attracted the hottest actors Joseph Gordon Levitt and Natalie Porter in recent years. Man, both starred at a friendly price. Since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival last year, "Heather" has been highly anticipated by niche fans. The media who have watched this film commented on it as "a multi-faceted, dark humorous film that shows the director's genius for storytelling", and "Variety" magazine believes that Joseph Gordon Levitt has "extraordinary charm." .
TJ, a little boy who lost his mother in a car accident, lives with his grandmother's father who ran away from drugs. A weird guy with long greasy hair and desperate hippie tattoos on his chest broke into their lives. He was Heather. He caused TJ a lot of trouble, but also helped him to regroup a broken family together. Heather is not a normal person in the public sense. Everyone thinks he is a madman, and he is crazy enough, but he is kind-hearted, but he has too many experiences that make him a little unsuitable for this society. So being together with TJ is a process of getting to know each other and changing each other. This film tells the story of how a few people who have suffered misfortune in their lives find their meaning in life again. The director used Heather as a "mad man" to tell the audience his views on life.
Face the pain, live in the moment
"Sometimes in trouble, you feel that things can't be worse. But soon you will find that many worse things are still to come." Nicole said to TJ in the film. This may also be the voice of most people—thinking that they are unlucky, being frustrated by difficulties so that they can't lift their heads, being pressed down by misfortune, and straight down, so that they are depressed all day long and even abandon themselves, such as TJ's father; or indulged in The goodness of the past is like TJ; or it may collapse to cry but still be at a loss, like Nicole.
The role of Heather broke the deadlock. He was naked, smoking a cigarette, and seven of the ten words in a sentence were dirty. He is an out-and-out activist, using his impulsive and manic behavior to teach TJ to challenge the wicked. He uses vulgar words to tell his experiences, and these "perverted fables" seem to be more direct and effective than the trauma treatment team. At the funeral of TJ's grandmother, Heather said to TJ and his father: "You have lost your wife, you have lost your mother, and I have lost an egg." But life is still going on, the earth is still moving- TJ has his father, TJ's father has his own son, and Heather has another egg. Losing is a heavy and full-bodied pain, and we will always be obsessed with what we have lost. Heather used extreme methods to make us understand that life and life will not stay for a second because of our pessimism.
In fact, many times we have the impulse to live only in the present, but in reality we often choose to escape because of the constraints of secular materials or other surrounding constraints. Heather's image is rebellious and extreme, but it is this kind of rebellion and extreme that makes people's blood boil. It seems that there is a force in his heart about to explode. Perhaps, every fragile heart has a Heather in his heart—speaking what he dared not say, doing what he dared not do. We look forward to our own courage, and this courage can be strong enough for us to face the pain without fear.
In this inspirational film full of rebellious emotions, TJ's grandmother once said: "Life is like walking in the rain. You can find a roof to shelter from the rain, or you can just let yourself get wet." When you meet When you are in difficulty, remember to stand up to meet it and defeat it; when you indulge in pain and decadence, remember to cherish everything you already have around you.
Life needs warmth
Seeing Heather, who has such a manic personality, chatting with TJ's grandmother very happily, not only TJ was stunned, but even me, the audience, was quite surprised-this wild and unruly heart turned out to have a soft side. Perhaps Heather once had a kind grandmother, and he was like TJ when he was young, often ignoring his grandmother and focusing on his own little emotions, so now he is so considerate when facing TJ's grandmother. These are just conjectures. The movie seems to have deliberately omitted Heather's past, which has become a suspense, but perhaps this suspense has become the source of Heather's power. Or maybe it was his grandmother's kindness that melted the ice in Heather's heart and made him feel the warmth of life again.
The indescribable relationship between Nicole and TJ also gave little TJ a warm memory. The moment Nicole tied TJ's tie probably reminded TJ of his mother who had left her.
At the dinner table, my grandmother asked everyone: "Who will walk with me tomorrow morning?" All she got was a moment of silence. At this time, Heather said to TJ: "She is your grandmother, you should go for a walk with her. Going to school is nothing, you can get up early and go for a walk with her before going to school." Finally, Heather and TJ both agreed. I walked with my grandmother, but my grandmother didn't wait for that day. Therefore, there is a scene where three people push their grandmother's coffin on the streets of a small town at the end of the film, which is also the sensational climax of the film. The sons want to be filial and don't wait for their relatives, but it is not too late for them to realize the importance of this issue.
Usually, we have too many reasons to be busy with our own affairs, making it natural and habitual not to be with our family. Until we lose those dear family members, we will sit on the sofa like the TJ family, grief flowing upstream. Such a basic truth was told by an unruly prodigal son, which made people feel unwilling and self-examined.
Growing pain, forgiveness and redemption, the small-cost independent film "Heather" unequivocally touches on social issues and is full of destructive and primitive power. Heather's role broke the deadlock in life, broke into life, and couldn't get rid of it. When you look down on all of this, he disappears. It's just that the character's character is slightly deliberate, which makes people feel that the force is too strong, but it weakens the performance power. Although it cannot be called perfect, this American independent production that reflects the destruction and reconstruction of life is still very successful.
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