After touring various festivals such as Venice, NYFF, Toronto, Tokyo, Stockholm, and more, the acclaimed drama Heaven Knows What will finally hit theaters later this year and today brings the first preview. Coming from Lenny Cooke directors Josh and Benny Safdie, the film takes a real-life approach as we follow Harley, a woman looking to get by in New York City while addicted to heroin.
Played by Arielle Holmes, it’s based on her memoir Mad Love in New York City, recounting her genuine experiences with drug addiction in this world. Discovered by Josh Safdie on the streets of NYC’s Diamond District, she agreed to take part in the project, and the results look to be impressive. Also starring Caleb Landry-Jones (Antiviral, X-Men: First Class), Buddy Duress, Eleonore Hendricks, Necro, and more, check out the red band trailer below.
Harley (Arielle Holmes) is madly in love with Ilya (Caleb Landry Jones). She’s sure he loves her just as much, if only he could express it. Both of them are heroin addicts, kids who pretend to be heavy-metal rockers but spend their time scuffling, arguing, and preying on each other as they wander around New York looking for a fix and the chump change to pay for it. The script, based on a Holmes’s memoir and written by the Safdies with Ronald Bronstein, is a miracle of economy. Sean Price Williams’s cinematography expresses the clouded vision of kids who can’t imagine how invisible they are to the New Yorkers who take their homes and jobs for granted. And the Safdie Brothers, in their toughest and richest movie, direct a cast composed largely of first-time actors so that they disappear into their characters, horrify us, and break our hearts.
Heaven Knows What will be released later this year.