'My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To' is a horror drama centring around a family of three unusual siblings, - Jessie, Thomas and Dwight. Jessie and Dwight are burdened with taking care of Thomas, as he suffers from an unusual condition, leaving him weak and unable to take care of himself. However, there is a more sinister tone to the story as Jessie and Dwight have to kill in order to provide for Thomas.
'My Heart' opens with Dwight luring an unsuspecting vagrant back to his home and follows as he and Jessie proceed to kill the unnamed man and drain his blood in order to give it to Thomas. It is revealed that Thomas is sickly and is sustained by consuming blood. The trio share dinner together, with Dwight visibly disturbed by what they must do for Thomas to get by. On occasion, Dwight is shown to visit with a prostitute to whom he reveals his longing to get away from the place and situation he is in. Some time later, Jessie suggests capturing and draining the prostitute, unbeknownst to her that Dwight has been consorting with her. Appalled by the fact that Jessie later does get to her, he is further drawn towards leaving his family behind. Sensing Dwight pull away, Jessie confronts him and expresses her concern that she would not be able to get by without him.
Conflicted and without anyone to talk with, Dwight goes out and captures an immigrant vagrant. Even though the two cannot communicate due to language barrier, Dwight keeps him tied up in the shed, visiting with him and expressing his concerns. Some time later, Thomas manages to attract a local boy, about his age, to hang out, as he had previously expressed a desperate urge to make friends. On seeing this Dwight threatens the boy and asks him to leave, but not before Jessie returns home, at which time the tied up vagrant escapes and tries to take out Dwight. Together, Dwight and Jessie overpower the vagrant, but Jessie is then stabbed by the frightened boy. Dwight tracks him, and eventually drives him home. On his return, Dwight finds Thomas drinking Jessie's blood, as she lays dying in the tub. Angry, Dwight buries Jessie in the back yard and leaves Thomas, saying he will not return. Reflecting on what had transpired, Dwight returns to Thomas and the two reconcile. Understanding that he is a burden, Thomas asks Dwight to expose him to daylight, effectively killing him. Afterwards, Dwight takes off and fulfils his desire to go to the beach, seemingly happy as he is now free of his familial burden.
'My Heart' is an intense drama focusing on the hardship that can be induced by remaining loyal to your family, the heartache it can cause by stifling ones ability to live independently to pursue their dreams and the implications loyalty may have on a person and their willingness to cross moral boundaries in order to provide for others. The film delves deep into exploring the tense emotions that family ties can impose on a person. Through Dwight, we can experience the solitude that can be felt by someone even though they are a part of a very close family unit. The movie illustrated the manner in which sticking close by your loved ones can segregate you from the outside world and make it difficult to create close connections with others. Even though Dwight is burdened by providing for his brother, he tries to create a relationship with a prostitute he is seeing, offering her extra money just to be able to talk with her. Dwight also desperately tries to form a connection with the vagrant he has effectively kidnapped by talking to him even although the man does not understand him. In a disturbing way, Dwight is only trying to bond, yet his attempts are skewed to a distorted version of reality to which no social norms adhere to.
Conversely, Jessie is a single minded individual, committed to preserving the family unit that exists around her, crossing whatever boundaries there may be only to ensure that she and her brothers stick together. Unlike Dwight, Jessie shows no remorse about killing and draining random people, as it is apparent that she sees these actions as a necessary means to an end. Even though Jessie comes off a cold-hearted as she is unfazed by killing vagrants, she exhibits a sort of love and care for her family. There is also a sense of duty to her actions that may at times overshadow the underlying love she has for Dwight and Thomas, as it is apparent that years of carrying on this way may have stripped her of her more tender and gentle side. Ultimately, as the killings tear away at Dwight and drive him to planning on leaving his family, it reinforces Jessie's conviction of keeping the trio together.
The film also show the heartache that Thomas is experiencing. Thomas is a gentle individual, exhibiting childlike mannerisms and showing little knowledge, or understanding, of exactly what his siblings must do in order to keep him alive. Through the course of the film he expresses a growing desire to form connections outside of his immediate family. This of course is met with dismay from Jessie, as she knows that his situation is incompatible with the people outside of their household. When Thomas manages to invite a stranger into their home in order to make a friend, the film drastically shifts in tone, as this action causes the downfall of the sibling's way of life, resulting in the death of Jessie and Dwight deciding he can no longer carry on this way. Before the film concludes however, we are shown that Dwight is not so cold-hearted as to leave Thomas to fend for himself, returning to reconcile with him and to commit a mercy killing, setting himself free and allowing for him to move on and start his life anew, unburdened by his family.
Ingrid Schram, Owen Campbell and Patrick Fugit portray Jessie, Thomas and Dwight respectively. The actors create a distinct and convincing sense of the family - delivering a lived-in feel to their relationships and illustrating multiple overlays of a variety of reservations and restrictions that exist to their way of life that ultimately result in harboured feelings of regret, anger and longing. Each character is a fully realised person, carrying a distinctive set of desires and motivations, enhancing the story and strengthening the progression of the film, as their motivations are clear and add to the conclusion of the movie.
'My Heart' delivers an alternative to the common vampire tale and uses that horror motif to deliver a unique tale of family dysfunction and gives voice to a deeply disturbing, dark and emotional story of coping with a difficult family situation, doing what is necessary to keep going and ultimately what effect that can have on a person.
Score: 4/4
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