The Heart of Me

Colour, 35 mm
United Kingdom, 2002, 96 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

London 1934. After their father’s death Madeleine suggest that her sister Dinah move in with her at her house in the metropolis. Madeleine’s husband Rickie has now become the head of the family and he thus naturally gets involved in his wife’s efforts to find a suitable husband for the freethinking Dinah. After the announcement of her engagement it seems that their wish has been fulfilled. But Rickie and Dinah have been drawing ever closer together and neither of them seems able to do anything about it. Without judging them, the director follows the development of her characters and their mutual relationships over the course of ten years. In this way she poses questions about friendship, guilt, the power of love, as well as reconciliation and forgiveness – possible for everyone, though to differing degrees. The film’s visual beauty is underscored by excellent acting performances (Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Williams and Paul Bettany) that bring the story believably to life. The director observed: "The complexity is what atracted us. Almost every action, every line of dialogue had that built-in tension, that doubt - is this a bad person being good or a good person being bad."

About the director

Thaddeus O’Sullivan (b. 1947, Dublin) graduated in film from the Royal College of Art, London. From the beginning he worked as both cameraman and director. In the eighties he manned the lens on several significant Irish films, for example Traveller, Pigs and Anne Devlin. As director, his December Bride (1990) was a great success, winning various awards including a Felix: the Special Jury Prize from the European Film Academy. Filmography: Pint of Plain (1975, short), On a Paving Stone Mounted (1978), Jack B Yeats (1981, short), The Woman Who Married Clark Gable (1985, short), December Bride (1990), In the Border Country (1991, TV), Tell Tale Hearts (1992, TV), Nothing Personal (1995), Witness to the Mob (1998, TV), Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000), The Heart of Me (2002).