Asia Argento's The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things: Review

The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things - Movie reviews - Spout: "With Heart, Argento splits her time between acting and directing. This is a tall order for anyone. The film is based on the work of JT LeRoy and is suppose to be a biographical account of his tortured and turbulent youth. In reality JT LeRoy is a concoction of a New England couple hoping that the gimmick of a sexually confused white trash novelist would propel them into wealth. It worked, for a while. From scenes of sexual abuse and maternal abandonment Argento conveys the sickly feel of the novels and manages to coax bewilderment out of her youngest actor, Jimmy Bennett as Jeremiah. While her direction is adequate she brings a Gummo like quality to the role of Jeremiah’s reluctant mother Sarah. For someone who grew up in wealth, even wealth generated from Dario Argento’s giallo fantasies, it must be hard to channel someone like Sarah. Her struggle is evident as Sarah seems more like a Jerry Springer guest than the real deal. Perhaps Argento had too much to deal with and her acting suffered. It doesn’t ruin the film, but it isn’t a strong performance by any standard."