IMDb > The Good Heart (2009)

The Good Heart (2009) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

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Director:
Dagur Kári
Writer:
Dagur Kári (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Good Heart on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2009 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama
Plot:
A bartender takes a young homeless man in under his wing. | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(26 articles)
Magnolia Binge on 'The Good Heart'
 (From ioncinema. 6 November 2009)

Magnolia Pictures Enlists The Good Heart
 (From MovieWeb. 5 November 2009, 4:37 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Tour de force from Brian Cox & Paul Dano more (1 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Paul Dano ... Lucas

Brian Cox ... Jacques
Damian Young ... Roddie

Stephanie Szostak ... Sarah
Isild Le Besco ... April

Clark Middleton ... Dimitri
Susan Blommaert ... Nurse Nora
Nicolas Bro ... Ib Dolby
Edmund Lyndeck ... Barber

Michael J. Burg ... Actor

Bill Buell ... Roger Verne

Daniel Raymont ... Markus
Stephen Henderson ... Psychiatrist
André De Shields ... Sooty
Henry Yuk ... Chin Lee
Ed Wheeler ... Jonathan

Uzimann ... Stress Out Excercisor
Sonnie Brown ... Nurse Woo
Adam S. Phillips ... Patient in therapy
Steve Axelrod ... The Farmer

Elissa Middleton ... Mattie
Darren Foreman ... Doctor
Catherina Ren Knerr ... Nurse Darlene Niles
Eric Milano ... Businessman (voice)
Carsten Thomas ... Bar Regular
Seth Sharp ... Nurse Billy
Boði ... Rococo
Alice Olivia Clarke ... Nurse Mona
Haraldur Jónsson ... Silent Man
Henry Lovell Smith ... Bar Regular
Michelle J. Nelson ... Nurse Sheila
Alexander Zaklynsky ... Bar Regular
Guy Conan Stewart ... Ben
Sean McGlynn ... Businessman
Kjartan Þórarinsson ... Walk In
Sruli Recht ... Bar Regular
Michael Pollock ... Bar Regular
Aristedes Philip DuVal ... Security Guard
Þórir Roff ... Bar Regular
Robert Nelson ... Bar Regular
Halfdan Pedersen ... Roger Warhol
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Additional Details

Runtime:
Canada:95 min (Toronto International Film Festival)
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Iceland more
Company:
Ex Nihilo more

FAQ

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful.
Tour de force from Brian Cox & Paul Dano, 25 September 2009
9/10
Author: larry-411 from United States

I attended the North American Premiere of "The Good Heart" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Brian Cox and Paul Dano (reunited after the 2001 indie classic "L.I.E.") pull off a tour de force that left me breathless in this character piece from Icelandic writer/director Dagur Kári.

The film opens with Lucas (Dano) barely eking out a living in a cardboard box under a rusty highway overpass, with only a scrawny kitten as a companion. Jacques (Cox) runs a worn old bar where he's beginning to take on its characteristics. The two meet and a classic intergenerational arc is set up that carries the film to the end.

The film is dominated by a triumphant performance from Cox, one of the film world's masters. Shot primarily in one interior location, the theatrical nature of the script lends itself to playful interaction between the two leads. The chemistry between Cox and Dano began in 2001 with "L.I.E." and there's still magic in that relationship, forged over time as Dano has matured as an actor and into manhood. Interestingly, there are some references to cars and shaving which have carried over from "L.I.E." to "The Good Heart," intentional or not. Conflict is infused by the sudden appearance of April (Isild Le Besco), who forces the two to take sides even as their friendship is beginning to blossom.

Shot with mostly hand-held camera by cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk, "The Good Heart's" grainy film stock, washed out colors, and natural lighting without compensation for shadows give the film an honest look. A sweet soundtrack is mostly provided by the player piano that holds a prominent place in the bar. It's a clever and amusing device.

A long time in the making, "The Good Heart" spent five years in production with exteriors in New York and interiors in Iceland. Cox's introduction after the screening brought the first standing ovation of the festival.

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Saw a preview today. Allow me to ease your mind... eleven8
*beep* Brian Cox! mezzoproduction
Paul + Brian back together tuti1403
what happened to tom waits? karlgalvan123
Paul Dano instead of Ryan Gosling eleven8
Locations l_owens
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