Here's a fun one: an hour and a half of harrowing drama charting the physical and mental abuse of a young boy, Jeremiah, at the hands of his neglectful mother (Asia Argento), her white trash lovers, and her religious extremist family. Not exactly a barrel of laughs!The second film to be directed by Asia Argento, daughter of horror legend Dario, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things isn't concerned with a strong narrative, it's purpose merely to catalogue the atrocities poor Jeremiah endures at the hands of grown-ups, delivering the message that the world can be a messed up place where the innocent and helpless suffer the most.It's bleak, relentless and, above all, honest film-making, handled with surprising assuredness by Argento, who even manages to throw in some offbeat and surreal touches towards the end in order to illustrate the fragile mental states of Jeremiah and his mother. Some of these did, admittedly, leave me a little perplexed, especially the crying lumps of coal that bled (seriously, this needs to be seen to be believed!), some animated red crows, and Jeremiah being dressed as a girl much to the confusion of Marilyn Manson (and me).

I think this is the worst film I have ever seen. I am amazed to read a positive review of it on IMDb. It's the story of a young boy with a junkie hooker mother and abusive grandparents who gets dragged, pushed and pulled from one horrendous situation to the next. It's a tale of abuse - in all it's forms. In my opinion, it was child abuse to even put a child actor through the scenes they filmed.Depressing, horrific, disgusting, unpleasant. I don't see what was achieved or expressed by that movie. I was so disgusted by it, I suggested my video store send it back to their suppliers - which they did. I never did that about a film before...

Rented this film out of curiosity towards Ms. Argento's film-making. While the film got off to a shaky start, it quickly evolved into a well-crafted and creatively interesting piece of film-making. While the subject matter of the story itself is upsetting to say the least, it is very well handled. Clearly Ms. Argento has a knack for weaving a compelling and meaningful tale. It will be interesting to see what stories she chooses to tell next and what kinds of characters she will choose to play in her upcoming projects. Overall, this film is worth watching, but make sure you are prepared for some heavy subject matter as it doesn't pull its punches!

The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things is about a young boy dragged into a world of drugs, sex, and child abuse after his demented mother gains custody of him. That brief synopsis there is enough to drive most movie-goers away. I think this film is unfairly criticized by many as being an exploitive piece of garbage. It also gained a lot of controversy because the author of the book, JT Leroy, is a fake and fabricated everything in the book. Does that mean the book or the film are bad? No. It may not be the story of JT Leroy's life, but it's the story of many victims of child abuse and it's a story that needs to be told.During many parts of this film, it is very hard to watch. The child in this film is mentally and physically abused in one way or another throughout most of it. The film offers no hope or redemption for any of the characters. It is merely a glimpse into what one child's life is like who is constantly abused. And thus, it is utterly depressing. However, if Argento had changed the story to make it an easier to watch, I wouldn't respect the film as much.One critic called Argento's performance "fearless", which I absolutely agree with. She shifts, from scene to scene, from caring mother (her rarest moment), to crazy drug fiend, to a beautiful but completely uninterested, clueless mother. In scenes when she's not verbally or physically abusing her son, she tries to cheer him up (waving a stuffed bunny in his face) or even, though oblivious in how to treat a child, take care of him. She could have played it down, she could have been less vicious, but then she wouldn't have stayed true to the story. She did and her performance is scary, fearless, and in her best moments, heartbreaking.This film is NOT for everyone. I think the person going into the film should keep an open mind and, more importantly, have a strong stomach. Getting back to what I said earlier, I really feel some critics and film fans have criticized the film unfairly because of it's subject matter. However unnecessary and excessive some people think this film is, this is what it's like for many children in America and all throughout the world. It's a serious problem that needs to be dealt with. Will this film create anymore psycho parents? I doubt it. Will it raise awareness about the issue? I doubt it; it's a small, independent film shunned by many. It could, it has the possibility of it if people are willing to listen. It certainly does cover the issue enough; depicting child abuse in an unflinching, realistic way.Asia Argento went all out. She adapted, directed, and played the horrific, starring role of a film she probably knew wouldn't be well-received because of it's content. It's obvious that she cared about this project and I think it really comes through in the film, and I greatly admire her for it. 9/10.