Perhaps no film on last year’s fall festival circuit built as much steam, so quickly going from essentially unknown to much-discussed must-see, as Josh and Benny Safdie‘s Heaven Knows What. A story of drug addicts hitting their low points in and around Manhattan, it’s also based on the life of its star, Arielle Holmes, and reviews reflect this bracing authenticity; some have even said that “the film’s lack of moral stance or causality, its sensory overload, and the attentive and respectful portrait of a dangerous subculture may very well turn it into the 21st century Kids.”
The preview for its imminent theatrical release is a real knock-out, though I’d suggest interested parties use their intent of seeing it as an initiative to experience its many unique formal approaches firsthand. Otherwise, though, a good sell is a good sell, especially for those who need it in the first place, and any small movie that bears this much promise shouldn’t risk going underseen. With a VOD release likely to come (more or less) hand-in-hand with the theatrical opening, you should mark this one on your calendar.
View the preview below:
Synopsis (via NYFF):
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 begin a limited theatrical run on May 29, with VOD likely arriving around the same time.
Have you been following buzz on the Safdies’ film?