Heaven (1998)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Scott Reynolds

Writers:

Chad Taylor (novel)
Scott Reynolds (written by)

Release Date:

30 April 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Every Seduction Is A Gamble.

Plot:

A struggling architect, being sued for divorce by his wife and struggling with booze and gambling, finds work remodeling a friend's strip club...

Plot Keywords:

Architect | Vision | Stripper | Prophecy | Strip Club

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Martin Donovan	...	Robert Marling
Danny Edwards	...	Heaven
Richard Schiff	...	Stanner
Joanna Going	...	Jennifer Marling
Patrick Malahide	...	Melrose
Karl Urban	...	Sweeper
Michael Langley	...	Sean Marling
Jeremy Birchall	...	Tree
Clint Sharplin	...	Nicely
Barry Spring	...	Wibber
Jon Brazier	...	Billy
Dean Stewart	...	David
Jane Fullerton-Smith	...	Candy (as Jane Fullerton Smith)
Jean Hyland	...	Mrs. Daniels
Valerie Williams	...	Claire

Runtime:

Canada:103 min | Spain:105 min | Argentina:105 min | USA:103 min

Country:

USA | New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Company:

Dimension Films

Soundtrack:

Someday

Offbeat and interesting thriller

Scott Reynolds may not exactly be well known; but his excellent 2001 thriller When Strangers Appear really took me by surprise, and while Heaven is not as accomplished as the aforementioned film, it's still a very good thriller that takes in multiple different elements, which are somehow combined into a mostly coherent whole. Like many post-Pulp Fiction crime thrillers, this one features a fragmented plot which is told through various flashbacks. The main character is Robert Marling; a man with a gambling addiction. He is recovering from a nasty split with his wife Jennifer, who also wants custody of their son. Robert is friends with Stanner; the proprietor of a strip club and employer of transvestite dancer Heaven. Heaven has an unusual ability to see into the future and takes a shine to Robert when she recognises him from one of her premonitions. The plot thickens when it emerges that the psychologist treating Robert is having an affair with his wife and also treating Heaven...

Most of the film is kept within the realms of possibly; the only exception to this being the mystical abilities of the title character, which comes off as being a little strange despite being integral to the plot. Initially, I had the film pegged as a rip-off of The Crying Game; but actually it doesn't make a meal of its gender-bending lead character at all. The plot does flow surprisingly well considering that it is put forward in a fragmented manner; the strong screenplay manages to put everything across in such a way that it all makes sense. There's no shortage of memorable characters, with strip club owner Stanner standing out most in that respect. The strip club itself is very well done and the director ensures that it has a fantastically sleazy atmosphere; it's just a shame that it isn't featured more! The ending is suitably strange and ambiguous; therefore suiting the film well. All in all, this is not quite a brilliant thriller; but it's well made and gripping for the duration and therefore I recommend it.