Brian Cox

The tavern in which most of "The Good Heart" unfolds is a Bronx cheer in the face of "Cheers." Here, even if the proprietor knows your name, he doesn't care about your well-being. He's in the business of "destroying" his customers drink by drink, as he reminds his protege, a formerly homeless man he has taken in to help out and keep him company.

Yet underneath all the booze and blather, the barkeep, Jacques, played by Brian Cox, has a good heart. Perhaps not as good as that of young Lucas, played by Paul Dano. But worth tending.

That's the idea behind writer-director Dagur Kari's artfully morose and extremely draggy father/son parable. The French-born native of Iceland shot most of "The Good Heart" in Iceland, though the setting is New York City. Kari's not after realism; he's after the sort of pipe dreams and sentiment that William Saroyan brought to "The Time of Your Life," with rougher language and a faultier sense of narrative construction.

As robust and clever an actor as Cox is, he can't make Jacques any less of a blowhard; Kari's wit simply doesn't come through in English, at least with this script. And Dano has an irritating habit of ... pausing simply ... to give his predilection ... toward a monotonal drone a ... much-needed ... rest.

With Dano I would pay an up-charge to hear him spit out a few lines of dialogue at a decent clip. I mean, we only have one life to live. We need to get through some of these indies as fast as we can.

Lucas plays the role of the surrogate son, until the disruptive appearance of failed flight attendant April (Isild Le Besco). Love blooms in the dank atmosphere. Jacques' loyalties are sorely tested. You could say the same of the audience's patience.

 

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MPAA rating: R (for language and a disturbing image).

Running time: 1:35.

Cast: Brian Cox (Jacques); Paul Dano (Lucas); Isild Le Besco (April).

Credits: Written and directed by Dagur Kari; produced by Skuli Fr. Malmquist and Thor S. Sigurjonsson. A Magnolia Pictures release.