Untamed Heart is a 1993 American romantic drama film starring Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei. It tells the story of a young woman unlucky in love finding true love in a very shy young man. The film was directed by Tony Bill and written by Tom Sierchio. The original music score was composed by Cliff Eidelman, and includes a classical arrangement of "Nature Boy". A remixed version of Suzanne Vega's 1981 song Tom's Diner is featured in the opening scene of the film.
Video Untamed Heart
Plot summary
Caroline (Tomei) is a young woman living in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. She is a beauty school student during the day and then in the evenings waits tables part-time at Jim's Diner alongside her best friend, Cindy (Perez), and Adam (Slater), a busboy and dishwasher who keeps to himself. Caroline is also very unlucky in love, which Cindy is aware of; one night at work after Caroline's latest boyfriend breaks up with her, she and Cindy find themselves talking about Adam. Cindy confides in her that she thinks Adam is "kinda cute", but then adds, "I'd do him if he wasn't so dumb".
Not having a car of her own, Caroline is walking home from work one night when she is accosted by two men who attempt to rape her, but Adam shows up and fights them off; unbeknownst to Caroline at the time, Adam had been following her from a distance every night to make sure she gets home safely. The next evening at work, Caroline profusely thanks Adam for coming to her rescue, at which point he quietly begins to open up about himself to her and the two become closer. Caroline later confides in Cindy that she is now interested in Adam; Cindy cannot believe it until Caroline reveals that she was almost raped and that Adam saved her life. Hearing this, Cindy supports Caroline's decision to give Adam a chance.
Things begin looking up for Caroline as she and Adam become a couple: Caroline buys a used car to get around easier, and Adam is beginning to overcome his shyness. But one night the same two men who tried to rape Caroline jump Adam while he is outside the diner, beating and stabbing him. Adam is rushed to the hospital, and Caroline later identifies the perpetrators in a police lineup, and they are charged with attacking Adam and assaulting Caroline.
While Adam is recovering, Caroline learns that he has a heart defect and, unless he gets a transplant, will not have long to live. Adam, claiming that he has a baboon's heart (based on a story told to him by a loving nun at the orphanage where he grew up), refuses to listen, stating that he is afraid that if he does get a transplant he will not be the same person anymore. Caroline tries to assure Adam that love comes from a person's soul and spirit, but then he asks why it hurts so much "here" (pointing to his chest) when one's heart is broken. Caroline is deeply touched by his words.
On his birthday, Caroline visits Adam at his small apartment and surprises him by taking him to a Minnesota North Stars hockey game, but before they leave, Adam surprises her with flowers and a gift that he left for her to be opened only after they return. At the game, Adam catches a stray puck that is shot into the crowd. On the way home from the game, Adam falls asleep next to Caroline, but it is only when they reach her house that she discovers to her horror and grief that Adam's weak heart has given out and he has passed away in his sleep.
After his funeral, Caroline goes to Adam's apartment and opens the gift he had left her: a box of his record albums with a handwritten note declaring his love.
Maps Untamed Heart
Cast
- Marisa Tomei as Caroline
- Christian Slater as Adam
- Rosie Perez as Cindy
- Kyle Secor as Howard
- Willie Garson as Patsy
Production
Tony Bill discovered Tom Sierchio's screenplay for Untamed Heart during one of his talent searches: he had asked an agent at William Morris to send him screenplays from new writers. Originally, Sierchio's screenplay had been submitted as a writer's sample. Bill showed the screenplay to producer Helen Bartlett who suggested that they option it. Within two weeks of Sierchio handing his script to his agent, MGM had greenlighted the project. Originally, the film was titled The Baboon Heart in honor of an infant named Baby Fae (born 14 October 1984) who received a cross-species heart transplant from a baboon to fix a congenital heart defect.
Initially, Bill had not considered Christian Slater for the role of Adam, "but then it was just the obvious choice."
For the role of Caroline, Bill remembered auditioning Marisa Tomei for his earlier film, Five Corners. While she had been too young for that role, after her success with My Cousin Vinny he felt she was right for the film. Sierchio's screenplay was originally set in New Jersey, but for logistical reasons they could not shoot there. The filmmakers considered finding a location to double for the state, but while Bill, Bartlett, and Sierchio were scouting in Minneapolis, they realized that it was the perfect place because of its strong acting community (they cast 35 of the film's 40 roles from it) and a large commercial production community that allowed them to utilize a mostly local crew.
The city's locations were also a strong factor in deciding to shoot there. The centerpiece was Jim's Coffee Shop & Bakery, which actually existed at the time of production but was closed to the public for the duration of shooting the film. Bill said, "It had a wonderful combination of ingredients from every diner you've ever been to; we've done very little to change it for the film. In fact, we changed the original name of the diner in the script to reflect that it is Jim's."
Principal photography began in March 1992 amidst cold temperatures. However, several scenes in winter were shot in May when fake snow maintained the illusion. One scene was shot at the Met Center, the home of the then-Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) at the time. Tomei wanted to have a believable regional accent, so chose as her driver local Craig Kittelson to double act as her dialogue coach.
Reception
Untamed Heart received a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 reviews.
Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the film was "kind of sweet and kind of goofy, and works because its heart is in the right place". Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said that the film "is hopelessly syrupy, preposterous and more than a little bit lame, but, still, somehow it got to me". Vincent Canby of The New York Times, said that the film "is to the mind what freshly discarded chewing gum is to the sole of a shoe: an irritant that slows movement without any real danger of stopping it". Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B-" rating and Owen Gleiberman praised Tomei's performance: "With her flashing dark eyes and libidinous overbite, Tomei is adorable -- she looks like a flirtatious bunny rabbit -- but what's astonishing is the range of expression that passes over those delectable features". Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "The Rain Man-Dying Young elements in Tom Sierchio's script are pitfalls that Slater dodges with a wonderfully appealing performance. His love scenes with the dazzling Tomei have an uncommon delicacy". In his review for The New Yorker, Anthony Lane praised Tomei for bringing "startling high spirits to a dullish role. She snatches moments of happiness out of the air and shares them out to anyone who's around". Mike Clark, in his review for USA Today, wrote, "Director Tony Bill (My Bodyguard) is adept both in the yarn's meticulous buildup and in his handling of the actors".
References
External links
- Untamed Heart on IMDb
- Untamed Heart at AllMovie
- Untamed Heart at Rotten Tomatoes
- Untamed Heart at Box Office Mojo
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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