Torn Hearts, 2022.
Directed by Brea Grant.
Starring Katey Sagal, Abby Quinn, Alexxis Lemire, and Joshua Leonard.
SYNOPSIS:
A country music duo seek out the private mansion of their idol and end up in a twisted series of horrors that force them to confront the limits they’ll go for their dreams.
Director Brea Grant (12 Hour Shift) returns with a tight, confined country-fried riff on Sunset Boulevard, sure to be best remembered for a deliciously twisted performance from the ever-great Katey Sagal.
Together, friends Jordan (Abby Quinn) and Leigh (Alexxis Lemire) are known as the Nashville country outfit Torn Hearts, and when they hear that reclusive country legend Harper Dutch (Sagal) might be seeking a comeback, they make an unsolicited visit to her home in the hope of teaming with her on a new record. Though Harper is hospitable at first, it soon becomes clear that her traumatic past – namely the death of her sister and former bandmate years prior – continues to haunt her.
While Torn Hearts is a relatively predictable journey from start to finish, execution counts for a lot, to which end Grant and her trio of leads deserve considerable praise. Beyond the mansion-set horror shenanigans, this is also a film keen to pass comment on not only the perils of fame but the struggle of women to be taken seriously in the entertainment industry as a whole. The sexism, gaslighting, and abuse that must often be endured simply in order to climb the ladder, despite one’s talents, is evident from the experiences of all three main characters, no matter the generational divide between Harper and her much younger house guests.
The crux of the tension lies in the precise nature of Harper’s unnerving past – teased by an opening burst of brutal violence – and how it will inevitably manifest. Grant skillfully slow-builds to the explosion we all know is coming, yet eschews cat-and-mouse simplicity in favour of a more darkly comedic tale in which Harper effectively plots to turn the two bandmates against one another for her own gain.
Grant walks a fine tonal line here, establishing serious life-or-death stakes yet also ensuring this is a fun-with-a-capital-F romp. That’s largely down to Sagal, who in her first major movie role in six years is an absolute scream as the unhinged, lonesome former music star. She’s allowed to swing wildly for the fences in act three, yet the performance never dares to descend into full-on camp.
As our younger protagonists, Abby Quinn and Alexxis Lemire are well-cast as the cautious and frustrated songwriter Jordan, and the more conceited and ambitious singer Leigh. They fit their parts like a glove and gradually tease out characters who harbour more depth than the aforementioned descriptions might suggest. Joshua Leonard also has a small but amusing role as Richie Rowley Jones, a sleazy music producer who Leigh is dating.
Once Grant has played the story’s full hand the film perhaps, like the girls themselves, outstays its welcome a little, yet the tantalisingly caustic and cynical ending of Rachel Koller Croft’s script – only further compounding the overall thematic – ensures it arrives at a fittingly thorny conclusion. Torn Hearts‘ unvarnished edges are largely smoothed over by a trio of stellar performances – especially a riotously go-for-broke Katey Sagal.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more film rambling.
