Heaven Knows What

Heaven Knows What

Theatrical release poster
Directed by
  • Ben Safdie
  • Joshua Safdie
Produced by
  • Sebastian Bear-McClard
  • Oscar Boyson
Written by
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Sean Price Williams
Edited by
  • Ronald Bronstein
  • Ben Safdie
Production
companies
  • Iconoclast
  • Elara Pictures[1]
Distributed by RADiUS-TWC
Release date
  • August 29, 2014 (2014-08-29) (Venice Film Festival)
  • May 29, 2015 (2015-05-29) (United States)
Running time
 94 minutes
Country
  • United States
  • France
Language English
Box office $63,776[2]

Heaven Knows What is a 2014 American-French[3] drama film directed by Ben and Joshua Safdie and written by Ronald Bronstein and Joshua Safdie. The film stars Arielle Holmes, Buddy Duress, Ron Braunstein, Eleonore Hendricks, Caleb Landry Jones and Yuri Pleskun. The film was released on May 29, 2015, by RADiUS-TWC. It is based on Holmes' unpublished memoir of her life as a homeless heroin addict living on the streets of New York City. She was spotted panhandling by director Josh Safdie, who developed her story into the film.[4] The film is dedicated to Ilya Leontyev, Holmes' boyfriend in the film (played by Caleb Landry Jones), who died of an overdose in Central Park in April 2015.[5]

Plot

Harley (Arielle Holmes), a homeless girl in New York City, loves Ilya (Caleb Landry Jones). He gives her life purpose and sets her passion ablaze. So, when he asks her to prove her love by slitting her wrists, she obliges with only mild hesitation, perhaps because of her other all-consuming love: heroin. After the attempted suicide, she is taken to hospital.

Harley leaves the psychiatric hospital and meets her friend Skully (Ron Braunstein). Skully tries to persuade Harley to break up with Ilya, but Harley doesn't listen to Skully. Harley goes meet a drug dealer Mike (Buddy Duress) and gets some drugs. Angry with Harley's attitude, Skully has a quarrel with her and goes away.

After spending a night with Mike, Harley starts living together with him. She makes a living by begging, shoplifting, and stealing. Some weeks later, Harley meets Ilya again. Mike fights a duel with Ilya at the park and gets injured. Treating his wound, Harley tells Mike that she still loves Ilya.

One night, Harley receives a phone call from one of her friends and goes to a fast-food restaurant. There, Ilya lies unconscious of a drug overdose at the restroom. Harley practices artificial respiration on Ilya, and Ilya comes back to life.

Falling in love again, Harley and Ilya get on the bus bound for Miami. While Harley is sleeping, Ilya gets off the bus alone and enters a vacant house. At night, the candle near his bed causes a fire, and Ilya is enveloped in flames.

Harley wakes up at the bus and notices that Ilya is not there. Confused, she gets off the bus and goes back to New York City. She enters a fast-food restaurant, where Mike boasts his friends about his story. From a distant seat, Harley watches them in silence.

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2014.[6] On October 1, 2014, RADiUS-TWC acquired the film.[7]

Reception

Heaven Knows What received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 84%, based on 56 reviews, with a rating of 7.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Grueling and rewarding in equal measure, Heaven Knows What hits hard -- and serves as a powerful calling card for its captivating star, Arielle Holmes."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

Kenji Fujishima of Slant Magazine described the film as "one of the most harrowing cinematic depictions of drug addiction in recent memory, reliant less on formal gimmickry than on close observation of behavior."[10] Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian gave it 5 stars out of 5 and praised Arielle Holmes' performance, saying: "While her accent is reminiscent of Linda Manz, her energy recalls Gena Rowlands in the best of Cassavetes' films."[11]

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that "[among] the film's most impressive qualities is the Safdie brothers' boldly textural use of music — predominantly Isao Tomita's electronica versions of Debussy, but also a little Tangerine Dream and James Dashow as well as some hardstyle and black metal."[12] Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times commented that "[the] director of photography, Sean Price Williams, skillfully orchestrates lingering close-ups and up-the-street long shots, which are beautifully interwoven in the editing by Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie."[13]

It won the Grand Prix and the Best Director award at the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Safdie Bros Launch Elara Pictures Banner With Drama ‘Heaven Knows What’". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Heaven Knows What (2015)". Box Office Mojo. 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  3. 1 2 Ishitobi, Noriki (2014-11-27). "U.S.-French film 'Heaven Knows What' takes top prize at Tokyo International Film Festival". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Trey. "Finally, a junkie love film that doesn’t glamourise drugs". Dazed. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Olsen, Mark. "'Heavens Knows What' star knows all about the street life film depicts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Foundas, Scott (2014-08-28). "‘Heaven Knows What’ Review: The Safdies Take a Step Forward". Variety. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  7. ↑ McNary, Dave (2014-10-01). "Radius Buys Docu-Drama ‘Heaven Knows What’ for U.S.". Variety. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  8. ↑ "Heaven Knows What (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  9. ↑ "Heaven Knows What Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. 2015-04-22. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  10. ↑ Fujishima, Kenji (2014-09-21). "Heaven Knows What". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  11. ↑ Hoffman, Jordan (2015-06-02). "Heaven Knows What review: junk, heartbreak and the rush of the city". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  12. ↑ Rooney, David (2014-08-28). "'Heaven Knows What': Venice Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  13. ↑ Rapold, Nicolas (2015-05-29). "Review: ‘Heaven Knows What’ Dramatizes a Young Junkie’s Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
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