HEARTLESS/FACE VALUE

Handsome Jim Sturgess, a heart-throbber recently in Across The Universe and 21, is cast as an outcast with a disfigured face in this new thriller with London’s East End populated by murderous demons.

******************

The movie marks Philip Ridley’s long awaited return to cinema.

Ridley, from London’s East End, was distinctly busy away back in 1990, penning the script for The Krays and both writing and directing a second remarkable film, The Reflecting Skin.

But since then, his CV has been short of notable entries.

Now he is back on his East End patch and looking likely to have a second coming.

Indeed, here he is directing a story about a second coming: about a young boy, with a birthmark, who shakes hands with the devil in a trade for getting rid of his disfiguration.

It is easy to sympathise with anyone who sells a piece of his soul in exchange for something of a normal life after years of being marginalized, but Sturgess goes a bit far by signing his pact with some shadowy locals who have been terrorizing the neighbourhood and, indeed, murdered his own mother.

Whatever his justification, Sturgess definitely enjoys the benefits of a new and beautiful face, except for the fact that his end of the bargain entails joining in the violent and deadly games of his new friends.

That is definitely something that is bound to interfere with his savouring of his more conventional life and, not surprisingly, he tries to re-write his contract in order to get free, which was never likely to be an easy option, and so it proves, adding the thriller element to this fiendish tale.

Alongside Sturgess are the soaind Clémence Poésy, formerly in Harry Potter and In Bruges; Noel Clarke, star of Kidulthood and Adulthood; everyman Timothy Spall and Mike Leigh favourite Eddie Marsan and new UK names Luke Treadaway and Jon Macmillan.

Shooting began in London and on the Isle of Mann in early June.

Heartless is produced by award winning short filmmaker Richard Raymond and it seems his excitement about the project is evening split between the talent in front of and behind the camera: said: The combination of Jim Sturgess and Clémence Poésy will be electric, in a story that touches upon strong contemporary themes and fears, which young audiences across the world will really connect with. At the same time Heartless is a gleaming, seductive and sexy ride into the fantastic imagination of signature director Philip Ridley, who we are all so thrilled to see back behind the camera.

Will it look good? Most likely, given that the mythical creatures in the film are in the hands of the world renowned effects company Framestore-CFC, which recently won both an Oscar and a BAFTA for their VFX in ‘The Golden Compass.

Posted July 7, 2008.