My Feral Heart, 2016.
Directed by Jane Gull.
Starring Steven Brandon, Shana Swash, and Will Rastall.
SYNOPSIS:
The film follows Luke (Steven Brandon) a young man who is looking after his elderly and unwell mother. Luke is independent, he enjoys walking and cares well for his mother — he also happens to have Down’s syndrome. When his mother passes away Luke is forced to move into a group home for people with learning difficulties. He struggles with having his liberty taken, but quickly makes friends with Eve (Shana Swash), a careworker, and Pete (Will Rastall), a man performing community service on the grounds of the home.
My Feral Heart, the directorial debut from Jane Gull, is a touching story that is bolstered by great performances by its entire lead and supporting cast, as well as careful handling of its difficult subject matter. Steven Brandon is particularly excellent as Luke, it’s a pleasure to watch embody his fiercely independent character, see him experience grief, and grow in his new and unwelcome environment. There are plenty of laughs, Luke is a joker and there are some funny moments from Eve and Pete who have a great rapport built on their juxtaposition of working and upper class. Pete, Luke’s friend who is performing community service for sabotaging hunts, is particularly engaging as the rogue upper-class man with a tragic past.
The first half of the film doesn’t put a foot wrong, doing an excellent job of falling into none of the pitfalls you would expect of a film covering this subject matter. However, a particular subplot in the latter half of the movie moves into the completely nonsensical when Luke finds and nurses an apparently feral girl. It perhaps works better if you think of it figuratively, rather than literally, but it fails to pull this off and it is an unfortunate turn in an otherwise excellent film. After the introduction of that subplot, the film loses its footing slightly, but still manages to keep us caring about the characters. There also seems to be some missed opportunity to really explore autonomy and depriving people of their liberty that the film appears as if it’s going to address early on, but these ideas never come to fruition.
If you can go with My Feral Heart and not think too deeply as things become quite strange, then do and don’t let some strange story choices taint this excellent and moving film. because it still deserves your time.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Rachael Kaines
Originally published November 27, 2017. Updated April 11, 2018.
