Hearts and Bones has all the elements to make this a riveting, gut wrenching emotional experience. Sadly, it just isn't.
The story itself is quite a good one. You can see why Mr. Weaving came on board. I'm sure it looked good on paper. Yet its not engaging let alone captivating. It lacks the emotional punch it seeks to deliver. And deliver and deliver. A bit like a poor boxing match. Lots of swings, few connects.
The reason for the emptiness at its core is the dynamic between the two leads. The way they come together and their friendship is just not believable. It feels forced. The story of Daniel's PTSD seems far more interesting yet it gets sidelined the more the film progresses.
In fact, there are several, rather significant elements going on, which may be too many. There are issues relating to Daniel and his partner, their past and now the present (without wanting to give spoilers). There's simply too much going on. Where time could have been spent exploring and drawing out the emotion of one particular situation, we're pushed head first into another without resolving the first. Or any of them, for that matter, to a degree of satisfaction.
Hugo Weaving is brilliant in everything he does, and though he delivers more of a range here than in a lot of his films, even he comes across a little flat.
Andrew Luri does a great job, considering it's his first ever role. Yet that doesn't make him a great actor. He fails to really deliver.
The partners do a far better job. Both women give stronger performances than their male counterparts. There's also a lot going on with their retrospective relationships and also their (forced) relationship with each other.
All in all, H&B tries to do too much yet fails to provide emotional truth in just about everything.
It's a shame as it is a solid story and brings up some interesting points, especially in regards to the lack of consideration the media gives to the coverage of real life horrific events in other countries. And then glorifies the process as though it's merely art.
Yet it's the closing credits with it's over the top and simplistic sermon that really feels ironically exploitative and somewhat immature. One wonders if perhaps all we've just witnessed was a 100 minute lackluster ad for the Free the Refugees movement.
The story itself is quite a good one. You can see why Mr. Weaving came on board. I'm sure it looked good on paper. Yet its not engaging let alone captivating. It lacks the emotional punch it seeks to deliver. And deliver and deliver. A bit like a poor boxing match. Lots of swings, few connects.
The reason for the emptiness at its core is the dynamic between the two leads. The way they come together and their friendship is just not believable. It feels forced. The story of Daniel's PTSD seems far more interesting yet it gets sidelined the more the film progresses.
In fact, there are several, rather significant elements going on, which may be too many. There are issues relating to Daniel and his partner, their past and now the present (without wanting to give spoilers). There's simply too much going on. Where time could have been spent exploring and drawing out the emotion of one particular situation, we're pushed head first into another without resolving the first. Or any of them, for that matter, to a degree of satisfaction.
Hugo Weaving is brilliant in everything he does, and though he delivers more of a range here than in a lot of his films, even he comes across a little flat.
Andrew Luri does a great job, considering it's his first ever role. Yet that doesn't make him a great actor. He fails to really deliver.
The partners do a far better job. Both women give stronger performances than their male counterparts. There's also a lot going on with their retrospective relationships and also their (forced) relationship with each other.
All in all, H&B tries to do too much yet fails to provide emotional truth in just about everything.
It's a shame as it is a solid story and brings up some interesting points, especially in regards to the lack of consideration the media gives to the coverage of real life horrific events in other countries. And then glorifies the process as though it's merely art.
Yet it's the closing credits with it's over the top and simplistic sermon that really feels ironically exploitative and somewhat immature. One wonders if perhaps all we've just witnessed was a 100 minute lackluster ad for the Free the Refugees movement.