Sorry, this movie sucks

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

After reading a lot of negative reviews for this film I almost decided not to watch it. Had I not been aware of how many idiots there are on the internet I might have missed out on what turned out to be a flawed yet enjoyable film. All the characters range from pitiable to despicable and this provides the flow of the film and depressing content and although the ending came across as a little too contrived ( I had expected something a little more messy given the lives of the characters) the story for the most part seemed an accurate representation of life and rang true for a gritty realism drama. By no means perfect but well worth a watch. I would give this a 6 but as it possesses elements I have not seen expressed in film before I am going to give it a 7

Please, please ignore any negative comments.I have just had the privilege of watching this film with a group of recovering addicts(drugs,alcohol and of all age groups, most of them at one time or the other had lived on the streets).Everyone of them testified to the realism of the movie, they all recognised aspects of themselves in the film and were moved by how close the director came to understanding their world.The cast are superb,the small spots of humour are handled gently.The whole piece is produced with great care and thought. I will undoubtedly watch it again

Frank, who normally plays slimy little mobsters is totally miscast in this - He just looks like a slimy little mobster, not an ex squaddie.The acting in most part is pretty banal, almost like a home movie.The believability of this movie is even worse - I mean come on..... an alcoholic buying 3 miniature bottles of whisky and a kids magazine for 18 pounds 50! Give me a break - This stuff looks like it was made by a 6th form film study group trying to justify some sort of interracial bonding between troubled souls - it just doesn't work - this rubbish will never get any major screenings, it will be lucky if it even gets to DVD! The self defence course in the park.... "Transfer the weight transfer the weight" was frankly embarrassing to watch.Have film makers simply run out of ideas? Is there nothing original around these days - Better off going and watching a really decent movie like Full Metal Jacket, Bad Santa or any number of movies made 20 years ago with at least a bit of class.Sorry, this movie does not deserve the 7.4 score on IMDb, it is claptrap.

I've just seen Junkhearts at Chapter Arts centre in Cardiff. I saw Junkhearts solely because I'm a big fan of Eddie Marsan and wanted to see him in a lead role, as I think he's a fantastic actor with a great range and a lightness of touch. As expected Eddie Marsan was fantastic, here playing an ex-solider, and brought a freshness to quite a now archetypal character. Familiar as this archetype is, the character is normally played out in a flat depressed state that flies off the handle at a moments notice. Instead the director Tinge Krishnan chooses to create a distance between the character of Frank and everybody else, in terms of the acting, the cropped framing, the use of negative space, and specific points of focus, which works really effectively. Within Junkhearts we are also introduced to newcomer Candese Reid, who was found at Nottingham's Television Workshop – famous for Paddy Considine and the This Is England cast. Her character Lynette works her way under Frank's emotional barrier, fully realised in a spine-tingling scene where Frank cracks his first smile we've seen, bathed in gorgeous sun light. The performances of Frank and Lynette felt truthful and authentic and I felt sympathetic to each character and that's a testament to the director. Furthermore, the execution of the script really engaged me throughout. It was incredibly shot by Catherine Derry, I loved the self-defence/dance scene seeped in sunflare, the lovely bokeh in the bar scene with Shaun Dooley and Romola Garai, the bleak scenes in and around the tower block and lifts, the uncomfortable framing with Eddie when he's having flashbacks, the lovely slow-motion when he dances, and I loved the practical lighting, and the strip lighting inside the flat. If you like the work of Lynne Ramsay, Andrea Arnold, Mike Leigh, and Shane Meadows, Junkhearts could be right up your street. One to watch in 2012.