"Firstly, let me say this... in no time in the History of the Academy Awards has a major Film such as "Heart Like a Wheel" been so grossly overlooked. I don't know what happened with this one.. maybe there was no decent advertising, maybe 20th Century got nervous because of the subject matter and tried to hide the Film upon release or maybe and more likely is that the Voters of the Academy did not hear of or screen this film. Its a rotten damn shame, because Bonnie B. performance is unquestionably one of the greatest of all time! Tour de Force is not enough.. its simply taking a role and eating it alive! As important as Sally Field's "Norma Rae" was, Heart Like a Wheel proves that women can dominate not only in American Society but on the Silver Screen. Bridges is outstanding as a aggressive, violent and womanizing Connie Kalita. Even if you hate drag racing, see this film. Back to Oscar; the film did receive a Nomination for Best Costume Design, so I will give credit where credit is due. Rosenthal's original mysterious synth score is intriguing and haunts you well after leaving the theater. There is some ground-breaking sound here.. hopefully somebody smart will come along and re-digitize this soundtrack into a surround mix but the score is in Dolby. Jonathan Kaplan's Direction is quirky, not the best ever, but a fine job never-the-less. This is a subject matter that you have to have at least some knowledge of going into it and I think the Director did. I don't know if Shirley M. was actually on-set, didn't see a Tech Credit but I assume she may have been. Bonnie is sensational in this roller coaster, quarter mile of burning rubber emotional ride of a real-life courageous and abused woman. Enter woman into man's sport issues for the first time and all hell break loose when track records fall. Shades of modern-day racers such as Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher are reminders that women continue to fight for their rights to not only have a chance to play the game but to win! Heart Like a Wheel wins in every single frame of film and is without question, the Film that somehow Oscar missed!
Review of Heart Like a Wheel
