Cast: Jeff Bridges, Edward Furlong, Lucinda Jenny, Tracey Kapisky, Don Harvey, Melvyn Hayward
Director: Martin Bell
Producers: Rosilyn Heller and Jeff Bridges
Screenplay: Peter Silverman
Music: James Newton-Howard; songs by Tom Waits
U.S. Distributor: Triton Pictures
Jack Kelson (Jeff Bridges) is an ex-con just out of jail, trying to get his new chance at life off to a good start. Unfortunately, circumstances are conspiring against him. His fourteen year old son, Nick (Edward Furlong), has run away from Jack's sister's farm, where he was staying, to seek him out. At first, Jack intends to send the boy back, but when Nick won't budge, he has no choice but to let him stay. Their relationship is strained, however, and Jack isn't a very good role model. With each passing day, problems mount, and the easy money offered by Jack's old way of life becomes increasingly more difficult to resist.
Set against a backdrop of poverty and violence in the underprivileged sections of Seattle, American Heart dramatizes a dysfunctional father/son relationship. Jack and Nick don't have a great rapport, but as the movie progresses, they struggle to find some sort of connection. Jack doesn't know how to be a good parent, and really doesn't want to start trying, but it's obvious that he loves his kid and wants Nick to have better opportunities than he had.
All three subplots effectively complement the main story. One explores Jack's relationship with Charlotte (Lucinda Jenny), a female pen-pal he started corresponding with while in prison. Nick resents Charlotte's presence, feeling that she takes away time that Jack should be spending with him. As the film progresses, Nick gets a girlfriend of his own -- Molly (Tracey Kapisky), a fifteen year old streetwalker whose mother dances topless. Molly introduces Nick to, among other things, drugs and crime. Despite Jack's warnings that she'll break his heart, Nick can't stay away. She's as addictive as the Marijuana that he smokes with her.
Then there's the constant re-appearance of Jack's old partner, Rainey (Don Harvey), who wants either Jack or Nick to accompany him on his next job -- a jewelry store robbery. Considering the poor state of Jack's finances, it's a tempting offer, but he realizes that to attain his modest dream of traveling north to live in Alaska, he has to keep his hands clean. Whether Nick can resist the lure is another matter altogether.
Jeff Bridges, who has shown a capacity for playing grungy, downtrodden men throughout his career, turns in a heartfelt, entirely-believable performance. Would that the same could be said of Edward Furlong. Furlong, whose biggest role to date (Terminator 2) came in a film demanding little obvious talent, displays a distressing lack of range. For the most part, he has two modes: a blank face and a peeved expression. Anything else is a bonus. Fortunately, few scenes demand that Furlong carry them, and he is supported by a fine cast.
American Heart is the kind of hard-hitting, issue-confronting drama that throws formulas out the window. The atmosphere is stark, but not so relentlessly bleak that there isn't room for a little, much needed comic relief. Nevertheless, by not adhering to traditional Hollywood staples, this film sets itself up as an intellectually and emotionally-challenging alternative to the lighter movies that typically populate local multiplexes.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli