The Good Heart

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Claudio C @Claudio666 Jan 9 A Nice Film about Friendship (12,189 – 09 Jan 2026) In New York, the young homeless Lucas (Paul Dano) tries to commit suicide but is saved. Meanwhile, the owner of a bar, Jacques (Brian Cox), has his fifth heart attack and is interned in the same hospital room. They befriend each other and Jacques brings Lucas to live and work with him. Jacques is a bad-tempered and bitter man and keeps only his regular clients. He is teaching Lucas, who is kind and sensitive, the work. When the steward April (Islid le Besco) is fired, Lucas helps her despite Jacques’ bad attitude toward her. When Jacques has his sixth heart attack, the doctor says that he needs a good heart to be transplanted. Now he needs to be patient and wait. "The Good Heart" (2009) is a nice film about the friendship of two different men. The dramatic plot is funny in many moments, but the conclusion is bleak. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "O Bom Coração" ("The Good Heart") My Blog: https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/ See more Jeffrey P 08/25/2024 Solid, well acted character study that captivates throughout despite a bitter humdrum pace. See more Brian L @Muton 12/01/2022 Just not funny. Racist but not funny. Is hanging little animals funny? Not at all funny. See more 12/17/2021 Brain Cox outstanding liked the twist end See more Frances H 11/24/2015 I LIKED IT. Paul Dano and Brian Cox are such good actors. See more 09/09/2014 Icelandic filmmaker Dagur Kári's drama is a solid, well made and written drama about an odd kinship between an old bartender Jacques (Brian Cox) and a wandering homeless young man Lucas (Paul Dano). The setting is New York, the starting point a failed suicide attempt by Lucas that brings the two characters together. "The Good Heart" is darkly humorous, but also serves as smart social commentary that slowly crawls beneath the skin of its characters. The narrative is brutal but compassionate towards the two men who are united in hopelessness. Jacques knows he's dying soon of a failing heart, adamant to make Lucas his successor. But the unfortunate boy seems to have too good a heart for business. The film gets a bit too sentimental at times, but this can be largely excused as Kári's take on storytelling is clearly one of a modern Dickens fable. The cinematography reflects this with a seeing-beauty-among-the-rubble approach. What makes the movie is the leading actors. Isild Le Besco has been given a bit too little to work with as a modern damsel in distress, but Paul Dano delivers again. Brian Cox truly shines as the deeply misanthropic and specifically misogynistic Jacques. Kári has written some marvelous dialog for the actors to build their characters with. See more Read all reviews

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