Customer Reviews

Heartlands

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I watched it, and almost turned it off after the first 5 minutes but gave it time as some movies start out a bit slow. What a beautifully shot movie, with gorgeous scenery, and a nice simple story. I enjoyed it so much, and liked that the end wasn't as I had expected. I came away after watching that movie, feeling good. Its a simple feel good movie, and I think you learn something from Colin, the main character, as he has learned from all the folks he met through the movie. Oh, and the comparison to Full Monty? No idea how...other than Steve Addy being in both movies, there are no similarities in any way. Very odd...Oh, and the music? Awesome, I bought the best of CD for Kate Rusby last nite after watching and listening to her. Shes a folk singer that performs most of the songs in the movie...

Set somewhere in northern England, this working-class road movie shares some of the same territory as "Full Monty," but it's in a class all by itself. Though it concerns the song-of-experience theme of betrayal and infidelity, it's a PG-13 song of innocence about a woolly-haired young man whose hero is a national darts champion. His journey to a getting-of-wisdom takes him on a moped along narrow two-lane roads and across rolling countryside, where the people he encounters open a world to him he never knew existed.

Almost lost among the oafish, inconsiderate and embittered people, young and old, who surround him, he finds good reason to be touched by those capable of appreciating him. Instead of spoiling his innocence, his experience of this world only seems to deepen it. Michael Sheen as Colin is wonderful, his smile beatific, and his face registering a remarkable range of emotions. If it's possible to put a lump in your throat, this feel-good movie will do it.

Heartlands is wonderful. It is beautifully shot and remarkably well acted. The movie made me laugh out loud - twice - without having to resort to potty jokes or sloppy slap stick humor. It also made me cry, not because it is an intrinsically sad film, but because it is in part the story of Everyman. Unless a person is remarkably dull or a recluse, there will be moments in this film that could have been taken from the pages of anyone's life. Granted the characters and situations are a bit larger, if not more colorful, than one might typically expect to encounter, it is Michael Sheen's (Colin) ability to humanize them that touches.

Without spoiling things for people who haven't seen the film, there is a scene in this movie that will stick with me forever. It is so full of simple, unburdened joy that anyone who sees it will be instantly both amused and completely charmed.

Call me Quixote, as I am off in search of windmills.....

A charming, non-sentimental, lovely road movie. An indie feel to it which brought to mind my reaction to the wonderful STATION AGENT--at least in terms of the believable, warm, slightly oddball characters. The lead actor, Michael Sheen, seems a UK version of Alfred E. Newman a bit but charming as can be. The wonderful characters he meets as he mopeds to Blackpool to confront his straying and disillusioned wife are a joy. Most of all one is seized emotionally by the canny use of the music of the great Kate Rusby and John McCusker which fill the film. Kate even appears in person in HEARTLANDS. Buy the film, buy the HEARTLANDS soundtrack album, by everything Kate Rusby has ever done (including her recent concert cd, LIVE FROM LEEDS). All are joys.

this movie had plenty of opportunity for some witty/chuckle-worthy lines or slap-stick bits...but it just sort of deflated in the comedy department. yes there were funny tidbits but they were fleeting and far too sparse. not to mention i found myself questioning why he would ever go after the bloody skank. i mean, collin was pathetic, but still charming and you couldn't help but want to reach over and give him a hug. despite its faults it does leave the viewer with a warm fuzzy feeling (that may make you feel uncomfortable if you only watched it cuz you've been reading all the full monty comparisons and were expecting a bit more *ahem* vulgar humor). this movie is for types who can appreciate the art of the camera angles and visions of the lush country side. the simpleness may seem a bit childish at first but it really leaves you with a happy-go-lucky grin and possibly a fetish with windmills. i was slightly disappointed, heartwarmed and enveloped by the romanticism of it at the same time. truly charming.

i'm also a big fan of michael sheen.

England's Easy Rider. This is a little treasure I return to when I want a couple hours of peaceful enjoyment of beautiful English countryside set to haunting Gaelic melodies and combined with the magic of humans behaving as humans. Michael Sheen does a terrific job as the boring and bored Everyman who abandons his mundane existence and journeys to self discovery: along the way we are treated to both life as it is and life as it could be. The score was my first intro to Kate Rusby and John McCusker's music; I'm now a fan of both.

I rarely write reviews, but feel compelled because I've purchased this charmer at least ten times and the world supply is dwindling. Get yours before they're completely gone. My copy keeps disappearing and I've given several as gifts. This movie and another favorite - Local Hero - just make me happy and take the bad taste of blood lust films out of my mouth.

I bought this movie because I'm a huge Kate Rusby fan. The movie itself was quite interesting in its own right. Anyone who is interested in cinematography should study this film because of some unique choices it makes. The artistic choices work, but only to a select audience.

The movie tells the story of a man who has done EVERYTHING in his life for his wife, but whose life is, well, boring, and yet he doesn't realize what he's missing. After she leaves him, he slowly begins to wake up. The first ten minutes or so immerse the viewer in the main character's boring lifestyle. So if it seems boring at first, it is, and that's the whole point of the first few scenes. I don't think you can understand (or appreciate) the rest of the film if you don't suffer through the initial boredom with patience. Yet the boring parts are masterful in their own way. I've never seen an artistic portrayal of boredom that well done ever (not that I've seen many).

Then, eventually, the movie gets going, but at a relaxing pace. The acting is generally good. The story could be summed up into maybe three paragraphs (it's not a complicated one), but yet it works. The camera-work is beautifully done, and the directing immerses you in Collin's inner journey. One gets to know the friends he makes along the way, those who change his life, and those whose lives he changes. In the end, as Collin awakens to life, something awakens inside the viewer as well. Perhaps the greatest definition of artistic beauty I can think of as that which awakens in the viewer what is the subject of the art work. This film, even at it's slower points, does that very very well.

This is an amazing movie, but not one that everyone is likely to have the patience to get through.

I have been collecting all of the works available on Michael Sheen since discovering him. He is a very versatile and gifted actor and this movie did not dissapoint.

I purchased this film because of Kate Rusby's music, but found the film itself a very happy discovery.

heartlands portrays Collin, a sad faithful husband who love his wife more than anything. Unfortunately his wife is a cheater and run away with one of his friend to blackpool for a dart game tournament.

The beauty of this film begins when Collin start his journey in order to win his wife back. Along his journey on his funny Honda motorcycle, Collin meet a lot of helpfull characters who make him see that there's a lot of things in the world better than his wife.

the ending is beautifully wrap up, which bring refreshment to your movie collection.