I’m torn. I don’t really know how to rate this movie. It’s like watching a car wreck. The life of Jeremiah is pretty disgusting and it’s hard to watch this movie. This is not a movie with a happy ending (or middle or beginning for that matter). However, it is well put together film and seems to be better assembled than Asia Argento’s first film Scarlet Diva (or at least my memory of it).
Before I begin the review, let me say a few things about JT LeRoy. Jeremy “Terminator” LeRoy who published a book called Sarah in 2001 and was about a 12-year-old boy named Cherry that wants to be the most famous lot lizard (prostitute at a truck stop). The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things followed in 2002 and Harold’s End in 2005.
LeRoy’s contributions have also been published in some famous literary magazines and is credited with the screenplay to Gus Van Sant’s Elephant. LeRoy was born in 1980 in West Virginia and made various claims about his personal life. Specifically that he was HIV positive, trans-gendered, abused as a child, a prostitute, and homeless. LeRoy was supposedly very shy and only appeared in public in a blond wig, hat, and dark sunglasses. The problem is that in 2005 the rumblings that LeRoy was a hoax started to be heard. In January 2006 an article in the New York Times exposed LeRoy as being the creation of writer/musician Laura Albert and played publicly by the half-sister of her partner.
Young Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett) is taken from his foster parents and given back to his real mother Sarah (Asia Argento). Problem is that his foster parents were stable and his real mother is a pill-popping scumbag psycho. He travels with her in her drug addled travels and from boyfriend to boyfriend. She eventually marries and he’s left alone in the apartment (with some white bread and cheese in the fridge) while she and her new squeeze (you know this marriage is not gonna work out) go off on their honeymoon I suppose. In his boredom he basically wrecks the apartment, drawing all over the walls.
JT LeRoy and Asia Argento at Cannes
He awakens to find that his mother is gone and he’s in the apartment with his new daddy. His new daddy is a pedophile, rapes him, and leaves him in a car under a bridge. He’s taken to the emergency room where as they discover that he’s been violated and he sees visions of red birds. A psychologist (Winona Ryder) uses dolls to try and find out what happened to him. His grandparents (Peter Fonda and Ornella Muti) take him in. They’re both religious fanatics of the worst sort. Grandfather runs his household like a prison, with Jesus as the warden.
Jeremiah spends three years with them (and is now played by Dylan and Cole Sprouse) when his mother returns and snatches him off the street. She’s now hooked up with Kenny the trucker (Matt Schulze). Kenny dumps them at a truck stop eventually and Sarah takes up stripping to earn money. Eventually she takes up with another man, Jackson (Marilyn Manson – sans creepy makeup). In a truly deranged scene Jeremiah dresses up like his mother and seduces Jackson (though Jeremiah is played by Asia Argento the whole time). Next she ends up with Chester the dope fiend (Jeremy Sisto). Jeremiah keeps having weird visions and seems to be inheriting his mother’s madness.
The Heart is Deceitful is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary track by actor/director Asia Argento and producer Chris Hanley.
There are also two featurettes. One is 14 minutes and entitled “New York Film Premiere” and is from the New York premiere of the film (duh!) and footage from the party afterwards. There are some interesting questions here since the hoax was reveled after the film was completed. The second is 29 minutes and is entitled “JT Under Cover” and is footage from 2004 Cannes film festival. “JT LeRoy” (he/she looks vaguely like Marsha Plimpton) is seated next to Asia Argento at the beginning of this feature. There’s even some footage of Laura Albert in there.
The problem with both of these featurettes is that the audio is pretty bad (especially the stuff shot at Cannes) and is hard to hear occasionally. It doesn’t help that JT in his “shyness” talks in a whisper. It looks like it was shot with a camcorder (although a high def one). The U.S. theatrical trailer is also included. There are some Easter eggs hidden on the disc. I did find one.
She's not going to win mother of the year
On the main menu if you right click on the set up selection, you’re treated to scenes from the movie with comedic commentary by I’m not sure who. That was the only one I found, but since I don’t like hunting for my special features I really didn’t look very hard. There are also some previews and web links. The final extra is inside the packaging, a booklet with pictures by photographer Mick Rock and quotes about the hoax.
It’s a hard film to rate, and quite disturbing I thought. If any part of my plot description makes you ill, then by all means stay away. It’s truly twisted. However, some of the edge is taken off because we now know that this is NOT a true story (JT claimed the book was based on his life). I’m going to go down the middle on this one.
The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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