Untamed Heart
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Movie Reviews of Untamed Heart
Movie Review: Great movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
Great movie! This is one of the best love stories I have ever seen! :)Movie Review: Quiet Little Flick Nevertheless a Romantic Charmer
Summary: 4 Stars
For those of us who have already "met" Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei in their star-making roles, "Untamed Heart" offers a series of pleasant surprises to go along with a tear-jerker of a plot.
Slater has made a career out of channeling Jack Nicholson into Generation X roles in such movies as "Heathers" and "True Romance" (which also came out in 1993, at the same time as "Untamed Heart"). In these movies, Slater is the smart-*ss with the devilish grin and irresistable command of the quip. Adam, his role in "Untamed Heart," could not be a further departure from Clarence of "True Romance." An orphan with a weak heart, Adam speaks seldom but feels deeply, even though he's never had a relationship with a woman. As a busboy and janitor for a small-time Minneapolis diner, he falls in a big way for Carolina (Marisa Tomei), a waitress at the diner. But even though Adam feels big feelings for Caroline, Slater wisely restrains himself - I don't think we even get a single arched eyebrow!
Caroline is also a departure for Tomei from the wise-cracking Noo Yawka she played in her career-making "My Cousin Vinnie." Caroline is one of those girls everyone knows in high school but never appears in the movies -- a cute gal whose talents lie buried under massive self-esteem issues. Soft-spoken except with her family and fellow waitresses, Caroline is forever starting ventures but never finishing them. We also get the sense that Caroline has gotten "familiar" with a lotta guys over the years.
Adam thwarts an ugly attempted rape as two guys "escort" Caroline home on a chilly night. In a lesser movie, Caroline would have instantly jumped into the sack with her hero to "reward" him for his chivalry, but Caroline regards Adam with a confused wariness that's quite believable. This reserve gradually melts, and soon Adam and Caroline are engaged in a very serious courtship -- Caroline is serious about Adam because he seems genuine, and Adam is serious about Caroline because he's incapable of being any other way.
These two characters truly merge on-screen into a believable couple, and their dialogue, while unusual, never ring false or contrived. Indeed, this movie rings true with all the hallmarks of "regular folks" just getting by with their daily lives. Even though it's set in Minnesota and has a few laughs, don't go looking for "Fargo"-style humor about Minnesotans. Even Rosie Perez, who can go as broad as humanly possible with the stereotypical Latina behavior, dials it down a notch or two in her role as Caroline's best friend, Cindy. Notice the look in her eye when she tells Caroline that Adam is, in a sense, "sponge-worthy." Even though it's funny, she doesn't really play it for laughs -- this is the kind of evaluation that occurs when you're closing up on the graveyard shift at the local diner.
A restrained "chick flick," "Untamed Heart" is a must for the film library if you're a fan of "weepies" (you know, "Terms of Endearment," "Love Story," and the like). While I'm not a huge fan of the sub-genre of romance films, I have to say that "Untamed Heart" offered a surprising amount of truth in its well-drawn, well-acted characters. (The soundtrack offers a lot of gems, too, including the Cowboy Junkies doing "Moon River. A big clue as to the movie's plot comes from the constant use of "Nature Boy" from "Moulin Rouge," too.)
Movie Review: "Magic records and a baboon heart...."
Summary: 4 Stars
Untamed Heart stars Christian Slater, Marisa Tomei, and Rosie Perez. All three work in a diner where Slater is a busboy, while Tomei and Perez play waitresses. Tomei plays Caroline, and is kind of a ditzy girl, but very sweet. Seems she has a problem with the boys she goes out with, in that they don't treat her particularly well, cheating on her and such. Perez plays Cindy, the more streetwise friend who tries to help Caroline out when she can, setting her up on dates, and commiserating with her when things go poorly. Slater plays Adam, a quiet and shy person who has a crush on Caroline. Cindy thinks Adam is mentally disabled, since he very rarely says two words, but Caroline sees him a little different, with more of an understanding attitude, but not as a romantic interest, at least at the beginning of the movie.
As the movie progresses, we see Adam saving Caroline from a particularly nasty situation when she is attacked by two men on her way home from work one night. When she finds out it was Adam that saved her and cared for her, she begins to look beneath the surface at Adam, and finds more than she expected. She learns of his feelings for her, and they develop a relationship, and fall in love. Actually, Adam has always been in love with Caroline, so it's just Caroline who comes around feeling for Adam what he feels for her. In getting to know Adam, Caroline learns that Adam was an orphan with a weak heart, and the nuns in the orphanage gave him some story about him having a baboon heart, which he still believed to this day. Their relationship is very sweet, as we see Adam's unrequited love fulfill, and Caroline finds someone who treats her the way she should be treated, the way anybody should be treated, with love, caring, thoughtfulness, and respect. Well, things are going really well, until the two guys that attacked Caroline and were subsequently beat up by Adam show up again and are looking for revenge on Adam. I don't want to go any further, as that would spoil things for someone who hasn't seen this yet, but I really liked how this movie ended.
I guess one of the reasons I like this movie so much is I could kind of identify with Slater's character, being awkward and shy myself in school. I know how it was to have a deep crush on someone, and yet not be able to bring yourself to tell that person how you feel. Sometimes it can be difficult to keep that kind of thing inside, but then if you let it out, there is a good chance that you may spoil the fantasy with the harsh reality. There were one or two points in the movie when I did tear up a little, and that doesn't happen often for me while watching movies (Old Yeller, Pride of the Yankees, Goodbye Mr. Chips). Slater plays his character well, and Tomei is incredibly cute and seems to pull off the sort of ditzy, but sweet and caring girl quite well. Perez also does a good job in her role. A sweet and sappy movie, for sure, but very watchable. Not much with regards to special features, but you do get an excellent wide screen presentation.
Movie Review: Moving portrait of an outcast
Summary: 4 Stars
Released in 1993, "Untamed Heart" tells the story of Caroline (Marisa Tomei) who works the night shift at a Minneapolis diner. She's a beautiful and likable young woman but, for some reason, is unable to maintain the romantic interest of the guys she dates. The answer to her love problems turns out to be right under her nose in the form of the diner's quiet dishwasher/janitor, Adam (Christian Slater).
"Untamed Heart" is a must for fans of Marisa Tomei (see the film and you'll see why) and the romance between Caroline and Adam works, although their sexual union is premature IMHO, but real-time has to be condensed into a 102-minute film so I guess it can be overlooked.
What struck me most about this film, aside from Marisa, was the character of Adam. He's an outcast; he doesn't fit with the crowd; he's quiet and mysterious in a misfit type of way; he's an easy target for people to mock; he's content to adore Caroline from a distance; his love for her doesn't change as she keeps making mistakes trying to find someone to love; he secretly acts as her guardian angel and doesn't care about getting credit.
Why is Caroline attracted to such a person? Because "opposites attract." We're naturally attracted to people that have what we lack and vice versa. Caroline is open, talkative and comfortable with practically any social setting; Adam isn't. Adam is aloof, meditative and unconcerned about fitting in -- qualities Caroline lacks.
You'll see people like Adam in real life if you open your eyes. At a local restaurant I sometimes catch a glimpse of one of the kitchen workers, whether taking a smoke break outside or whatever. He's in his mid-30s, maybe older, obviously intelligent with a striking appearance, but he's quiet and aloof from the people around him, with an air of mystery. This is a person, like Adam in the film, who doesn't fit into society's mold -- college doesn't work for him despite his intelligence, nor does a conventional job; he just does what he has to to live.
The film is very successful at bringing to life this type of outcast in the character of Adam. I found it quite moving. I understand and can relate.
Not everything in the story works, however, which is why I knock off a star in my rating. For instance, it isn't even remotely believable that Adam would be able to secretly break into Marisa's house and set up a Christmas tree in her bedroom while she's sleeping, especially in light of the fact that there are other family members sleeping there as well. Dumb. What were the writers thinking?
The film was shot on location in NE Minneapolis.
Movie Review: Your girlfriend or wife may enjoy this one......
Summary: 4 Stars
"Untamed Heart" is a quaint early 1990's drama/romance starring Marisa Tomei and Christian Slater, both of whom were very visible at the box office during that time period. Tomei plays an outgoing waitress, named Caroline, that falls for Adam who is a very quiet busboy in the diner they work at together. Initially, it would seem like an odd fit given their personalities. As the movie progresses, though, the viewer comes to realize that their pairing works. As Caroline later explains to her best friend (Rosie Perez), the two of them make sense together. Tomei's character, Caroline, has a history of being unlucky in love. Slater's character, Adam, is an orphan who has a heart defect.
What ensues is a brief love story that will be enjoyed by the true romantic at heart. There isn't much here to keep most men interested, aside from the presence of Tomei, but "Untamed Heart" is a favorite of women who are both single and taken. That is not to say there aren't some flaws here. You will sense a slight lack of realism in Caroline and Adam's relationship. Most women wouldn't take so kindly to Adam's penchant for following Caroline (Tomei) home or sneaking into her house while she is asleep. You also rarely see Adam and Caroline, as a couple, interacting with anybody other than themselves. They seem to be lost in their own little world when they are together. However, these little flaws are no less realistic than other minor points you will notice in similar movies.
Aside from that, the whole story seems a little short and the movie is brief at a little over ninty minutes. However, what is here is at best a solid love story and at worst a good date movie. Slater, Tomei and Perez all do a fine job with their characters and the soundtrack is enjoyable. If you like a sensitive love story with a little heart and have never seen "Untamed Heart", by all means give it a rental or pick up a copy.