Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

The Good Heart
2009
**½
Director: Dagur Kári
Cast: Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Stephanie Szostak, Isild Le Besco, Nicolas Bro

Jacques, a grumpy old misanthrope who runs a back alley bar, is recovering from another heart attack in hospital. There he meets Lucas, a young homeless man with suicidal tendencies, and decides to groom him into his successor before it's too late. The setting is New York City, but this comedy drama has a very European feel. There is a multinational cast and it was written and directed by the Icelandic Dagur Kári, who has clearly picked up a thing or two from Aki Kaurismäki's portrayals of the downtrodden. That is, he won't let a thing like realism get in the way of the story he wants to tell. Jacques only lets a selected dozen regulars in his bar, yet he seems to be loaded, and in possession of an incredible health insurance. In the early stages, this is actually a nicely gritty and dry comedy which pits the acerbic Cox (enjoyable) and the puppy-like Dano (typecast) against each other, but the film slowly morphs into a frustratingly implausible and tiresome fable. It's steep downhill once Isild Le Besco shows up in one of the most baffling and underwritten female roles in cinematic story.