Heaven (2002)

Admirable film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This isn't great or anything, but it gets the job done well enough. Blanchett gives us some incredibly strong work early on especially, in a pretty heartbreaking scene. Giovanni Ribisy is a great lead and I'd wish he'd gotten more role likes this throughout the years, he clearly has the looks. The film manages to have a few turns in the story without getting too bogged down in its own head and while never feeling too over-the-top and still feeling sort of graceful in its execution. The whole thing does have this really quiet tone to it, when it could've easily felt overdone and overcooked. In that regard I do give it major props, not being too clichéd.

Blanchett is superb in Heaven. It is a movie that is subtly unnerving.If you are not familiar with her work, this is a good place to view her remarkable skills.Is she a terrorist? Not in reality.Is she simply angry? Yes. Yet her drastic action is sparked by so much more than anger.Why are her many complaints buried by authorities? Or, are they buried?This one is memorable.Blanchett is grossly underrated. If you've not seen her works do so. You will not be disappointed.

Allegory is were the story parallels a famous parable, fable or story. It usually involves human virtue and/or frailty, which serve as the actual point; i.e., not the setting, characters or even the plot. Some purists would argue that the virtue or weakness must match some classical theme; e.g., a biblical or Shakespearean tale told in modern method. Critics may argue a better allegory may involve characterization and plot as well as any other movie. Not necessarily.The story line (I almost hesitate to call it a "plot") in HEAVEN is interesting if not at all detailed, fleshed out, etc. Other than our two main characters, no character, with the limited exception of Phillepe's father, is given screen time, dialogue. Consider how easy it would have been to throw in some details to make the bad guy more evil, Phillepe's little brother more altruistic, etc. Even Phillepe's father is not really explained, serving bettor to enhance his son's conviction.What we are left with is this beautiful arch of innocence, tragedy,obsession,redemption, consummation and surrender. The bookending helicopter tool was a clever device, if irritating to some. But it doesn't matter how they died, kill'em in Bonnie & Clyde fashion if you like. If Cate's escape was clumsy, how cool was it to put the two in the attic, Phillepe's boyhood hideaway, for developing the relationship? Contrary to the cries that the plot was unbelievable, I found it clever how the plot, secondary characters, circumstances, etc., were so successfully minimized.When dad arrives in the rural village to meet with the fugitives, a shot freezes the two in their skinhead haircuts, punk jeans and tee shirts. They look no different than two ordinary beatniks, disenchanted youth, etc., and most of all, look so comfortable in their condition. The two come from such different backgrounds and have arrived therein from entirely different means and motivations. Yet there they sit, looking interchangeably the same and likewise united in purpose and conviction. Such is a much greater cinematic feat than a Hollywood getaway thriller.

I missed some of HEAVEN, but what I saw was mesmerizingly awful. A woman plots revenge in the death of her husband but things go wrong and she ends up in jail, where one of her jailers falls for her and plots her escape. English actress Kate Blanchett (not to be confused with Kate Bekinsale or Kate Winslett) plays the woman but the story is set in Italy, and all but one of her fellow actors is Italian (the exception being American-born Giovanni Ribisi) and huge chunks of dialog are in Italian with subtitles. The movie is extremely slow-going. Also, I am yet to find anything particularly appealing about Ms. Blanchett, whom I have now seen in three or four movies. I would have preferred Ms. Beckinsale and her perky breasts. And an American or possibly English setting.