Family is the Drug

CROOKED HEARTS (1991)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Crooked Hearts" is an ashamedly forgotten dysfunctional family drama that should have had a bigger audience. With its roster of actors who all come up aces, it should have also had a bigger theatrical release but MGM may or may not have had faith in it. Video and DVD lends to a ripe discovery of an independent film (made in Canada) that should be talked about and discussed. It is that good.

Based on Robert Boswell's even sadder novel and adapted by writer-director Michael Bortman, "Crooked Hearts" focuses on the Warrens, a family that celebrates failure. When Tom (Peter Berg) returns home after barely finishing his first college semester, a party is thrown. The parents (Cindy Pickett, Peter Coyote) take it all in stride, expressing their joy that their son is home though no conversation on why he didn't finish his semester. Noah Wyle is the younger brother, Ask, who has written a set of rules that he follows, such as never throwing water on an electrical fire. Juliette Lewis (prior to her breakthrough "Cape Fear" performance and in her debut performance, a fact shared by Juliette herself) is Cassie who falls asleep at the most inopportune times. And there is the troublemaker, Charley (Vincent D'Onofrio), who has slept with every girl in town and got a bakery girl pregnant! He is the fire that burns in this family, the one who wants to get away but his father will not let him.

"Crooked Hearts" doesn't skimp on how this family hurts each other without really noticing. The Warrens are not capable of speaking to each other or communicating without highlighting failure as some sort of reward. No real insight into why the family behaves this way is given except that secrets must not be divulged to the sleepy daughter of the Warren household, Cassie. This can be frustrating to the viewer (especially after the tragic loss of their home leads to a party at a motor inn) but it is indicative of a family that can't and won't let go of each other. Cindy Pickett as the Warren matriarch wants her husband to let go of Charley, who feels his father's vise-like grip tightening. Charley purposefully screws up so that he can be free but nothing works (he even admits to Tom that he impregnated Tom's ex). One too many tragedies lead to an emotional close that will have you straining to breathe, with the hope that the Warrens can move on. Do they and can they speak in real truths without celebrating who screws up next? Hard to say.

"Crooked Hearts" is a tough, unsentimental picture about how family love can suffocate everyone. The novel by Boswell also drains our emotions and our sorrows but the film deals with its themes through a quiet, unrelenting unease. Despite some humorous touches (such as Jennifer Jason Leigh as a girl who believes in signing a contract before a relationship begins), this is technically one of the bleakest family dramas I've seen in ages. "This family is like a drug and we are all junkies," says Charley. A salient point from an underappreciated gem.