The title adjective refers to Victor (Pruitt Taylor Vince, "Mississippi Burning"), the overweight, painfully shy pizza chef at his mothers' (Hollywood veteran Shelley Winters, "The Diary of Anne Frank") roadside diner. Victor has so little confidence that it's hard for him to reach out to people. When the young Callie (Liv Tyler, the "Lord of the Rings" series) is hired as the new waitress, Victor is understandably taken with her. After all, not only is she beautiful, but she is genuinely kind and nice. She does already have a boyfriend (music star Evan Dando, who also performs a few songs on the soundtrack), so Victor finds himself sometimes fantasizing about being Callies' boyfriend & savior. It's sometimes preferable to the reality with which he lives.
The filmmaking debut for James Mangold ("Walk the Line", "Logan"), "Heavy" is a sensitive, very serious-minded character study that may lose some viewers because it dares to be VERY slowly paced. It's moody, and populated with bitter characters (rock star Deborah Harry ("Tales from the Darkside: The Movie") as a loose senior waitress, character actor Joe Grifasi ("F/X") as a regular customer, etc.). The cast is simply wonderful (David Patrick Kelly ("The Crow") has a great cameo as a hospital patient), with the under-rated Vince commanding a viewers' attention in the main role. He doesn't have much dialogue, but he can say so much with just his expressions. Tyler is absolutely enchanting, and Winters is just fine in one of her best latter-day performances.
All in all, "Heavy" is notable for treating a plus-size loner character with genuine respect and compassion; Victor is no joke, just a relatable ordinary guy who is hesitant at just about every turn. This is a character worth getting to know. And Mangold was clearly determined to have the story played straight. There is no obtrusive comedy relief to detract from the drama on screen.
It would be hard to come away unaffected by this gentle film.
Seven out of 10.
The filmmaking debut for James Mangold ("Walk the Line", "Logan"), "Heavy" is a sensitive, very serious-minded character study that may lose some viewers because it dares to be VERY slowly paced. It's moody, and populated with bitter characters (rock star Deborah Harry ("Tales from the Darkside: The Movie") as a loose senior waitress, character actor Joe Grifasi ("F/X") as a regular customer, etc.). The cast is simply wonderful (David Patrick Kelly ("The Crow") has a great cameo as a hospital patient), with the under-rated Vince commanding a viewers' attention in the main role. He doesn't have much dialogue, but he can say so much with just his expressions. Tyler is absolutely enchanting, and Winters is just fine in one of her best latter-day performances.
All in all, "Heavy" is notable for treating a plus-size loner character with genuine respect and compassion; Victor is no joke, just a relatable ordinary guy who is hesitant at just about every turn. This is a character worth getting to know. And Mangold was clearly determined to have the story played straight. There is no obtrusive comedy relief to detract from the drama on screen.
It would be hard to come away unaffected by this gentle film.
Seven out of 10.