Directed by: Zachary Wigon.
Written by: Zachary Wigon.
Starring: John Gallagher Jr. (Cody), Kate Lyn Sheil (Virginia), David Call (Dale), Louisa Krause (Jessica), Katie Paxton (Mary), Halley Wegryn Gross (Sarah), Libby Woodbridge (Caitlyn).
I
don’t think it’s easy for a filmmaker to make a movie about our relationship
with technology and not come across heavy handed or preachy. I don’t necessarily
think Jason Reitman was trying to be preachy in Men, Women & Children – but
his film certainly came across that way at times. Part of the problem with that
film is that Reitman tries to do so much – tries to delve into the lives of so
many characters and their relationship with the internet, that it couldn’t
really do anything other than skim the surface – and thus seem preachy. By
contrast, as cheesy and on the nose as the title is, The Heart Machine is a
much better, more confident film about the ways technology now effects even the
most intimate moments of many people’s lives. The film is structured much like
a low-key thriller – a film that brings to mind masterpieces Vertigo, Blow-Up,
The Conversation or Blow Out – and while the film is nowhere close to those
films (an impossible standard for anyone to live up to), it is still effective,
especially in its buildup, rather than its payoff. The payoff is rather anti-climactic
– rather mundane really, but I think it still works, as it probably stays closer
to life than a bigger, more exciting climax would have.
The
film stars John Gallagher Jr. as Cody – a floppy haired, Brooklyn hipster – a
seemingly nice guy who can be funny and charming, and doesn’t have much trouble
attracting women. For reasons not entirely explained he goes on a dating site
anyway – and it’s here he meets Virginia (Kate Lyn Sheil), an East Village
dweller. The pair meet online and Skype with each other – before she reveals to
him that she is currently living in Berlin for the next six months. The main
action is a few months later – we see how these two met, and started talking in
flashback – and Cody is convinced that Virginia is lying to him about where she
is – and he starts digging to try and prove his suspicions. It starts innocently
enough, but as the movie progresses he becomes increasingly obsessed, and
increasingly creepy – crossing one line after another in an attempt to find out
what he wants to know. An interesting part of the movie is that Cody seems to
realize he is crossing the line, but he cannot help himself – he continues to
dig himself in deeper. The film loses some of its tension when it starts
flashing back and forth from Cody to Virginia – which happens late in the first
act – but helps to deepen its two characters. While the movie mainly focuses
Cody, it is Virginia who becomes the more fascinating character.
To
say more would risk spoiling some of the plot of the movie, but I’m not sure
the movie is really about its plot anyway. There is no doubt that the film is
structured like a thriller through its first two acts – with Gallagher’s Cody
slowly sinking further and further into his obsession – at risk of losing sight
of everything else in his life. The film is more about his deteriorating mental
state than anything else – and how he is willing to do anything to find out if
he’s right. When the movie focuses of Virginia, it mainly keeps the audience at
a distance – observing her actions, without explaining them. By the end of the
movie however, they will essentially switch roles.
The
film is the debut of Zachary Wigon, who uses technology in an interesting way
in the film – more of a given, rather than something to be commented on. The
two people at the center of the film – and everyone who enters the movie around
them – are on the internet constantly, and use it in a variety of ways. This
makes it easier for Cody to cyberstalk Virginia, and start piecing together all
the clues he has. But the heart of the movie is still rooted in the same
problems that have plagued relationship for years. The Heart Machine is a film
that uses technology in a way that few films have – it doesn’t ignore its
effects on our lives, but doesn’t dwell on them either.
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