You know, I just really, really like Dagur Kari. The Icelandic director may not be the biggest or flashiest guy around but his stuff is just solid. Three features into his career now - each in a different language, oddly - it is clear that Kari's particular calling is the outsider drama, each of his films fascinated with the people who live on the fringes of society. And none of his characters have ever been fringier (sorry) than Brian Cox and Paul Dano in The Good Heart. The story of a cranky bartender with a failing heart who takes in a homeless, suicidal young man with the aim of rehabbing him as a potential heir, this is rough and coarse and fragile and, ultimately, very aptly named. It's just really, really good. And also the sort of thing that easily slips through the cracks in America, so good on Magnolia for releasing it and giving it a decent push in the process.
Speaking of which, they've just released a new red-band trailer for the film which you can find below.
Speaking of which, they've just released a new red-band trailer for the film which you can find below.