Although the technique is used with greater skill in "28 Grams," "Heaven" uses a back-and-forth-in-time editing technique to keep the viewer on their toes and constantly thinking. The technique always reminds me of a friend telling a long complicated tale who will break to say, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, before we went A-B-C, there was this incident where X-Y-Z happened." Not a good way to explain it, but I find it an interesting way to let a story unfold. Danny Edwards plays a transsexual, not a transvestite (as the previous reviewer erroneously identified the character-- there is a major difference between the two) and does a splendid job creating a believable and sympathetic character. If the film lacks anything, it's that no one seems to have a cell phone right when when would come in handy (and be expected.) It's also never explained why Robert Marling (the architect character at the story's center) supposedly only has "$200 in the bank" in one scene, only to be gambling two grand just hours later. There is one sloppy edit where the bouncer, Sweeper, turns away from a jerk he's just smacked away from the strip club, that quick cuts to a close up where his face is turned another direction, then cuts back to the first camera angle. Other than that, the time shifts in the editing are what keep the movie fresh and interesting.
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