[yasr_overall_rating]
A teenage con-artist tricks a desperate mother into hiring her as a live-in companion for her autistic daughter.
According to director Janet Grillo’s vast – and gloriously mercurial – filmography, spanning from executive-producing both the second and third feature in the infamous “House Party” trilogy to working on sets with David O. Russell, she steadily gained experience, until hitting her stride circa 2008, winning an Emmy for her work on HBO’s “Autism: The Musical,” and being nominated in the Best Narrative Feature category for her autism drama “Fly Away” at the SXSW festival. Grillo continues her exploration of the subject of autism in “Jack of the Red Hearts,” a well-meaning tale that rings true in ambition but false in execution.
Early in the film, Kay (Famke Janssen) and Mark (Scott Cohen), argue over whose life is more difficult; Kay is exhausted from staying at home 24/7 with their autistic daughter Glory (Taylor Richardson), while Mark claims he’s too busy. Kay wants a career, too – but who’s to take care of Glory?
Cut To: EXT.: Orphan sisters Jack (AnnaSophia Robb) and Coke (Sophia Anne Caruso) (Jack and Coke… because they blend so well together…) loiter outside a food mart, fooling folks into giving them spare change under the guise of being Red Cross workers. Jack – bratty and selfish but also street-wise – is under probation, her sister under the threat of being placed with a foster family. Unable to sustain themselves, Jack sheds her goth look and cons her way (a tad too smoothly, if you ask me) into serving as a live-in companion for Glory, for $20 an hour, under the pseudonym Donna.
Jack/Donna meets Robert (Israel Broussard), Glory’s brother, who is a sarcastic prick at first (“Are you here to save the day?” he asks, munching on cereal), but then rushes over to his friend’s car and rants about how “unequivocally hot” the new “babysitter” is. Kay takes Jack on a tour: the multitude of vitamins that needs to be consumed, Glory’s “bible” that requires studying, Glory’s classes that cannot be missed.
They say grace around the dinner table, while Glory walks around, grabbing mashed potatoes off everyone’s plates. When Jack refuses to share hers, Glory reacts violently. “We are accustomed to Glory taking things off our plates while we eat,” Mark explains, as the rest of the family eyes Jack disapprovingly.
Jack starts off by treating Glory like a spoiled child, is forceful and impatient. She sees her eating dirt and comments, “That’s gross. What’s wrong with you?”, before taking a nap. This is followed by an extended yam-feeding sequence (which made me feel uneasy, but I guess it was supposed to).
More family dynamics unravel, such as father-son issues, but all gradually gets resolved: Jack bonds with Glory and her parents, she grows a conscience, a tween romance blooms, it all comes crashing down before… Well, you can probably guess the rest. And if not, by all means, watch the film and let it shock you with its twists and turns.
Sarcasm aside, there are some pretty good reasons to watch the film. Glory’s POV, a murky yet shiny, muted world, out of which she keeps getting violently yanked, is vividly portrayed. Jack’s relationship with her sister Coke is so real, I almost wished this whole story was about their travails. There are some standout sequences, most involving Glory getting herself into dangerous situations (a roof, a tall branch). A scene in the middle of the film involves Jack actually discussing a Jack of Red Hearts card with Glory, which not-so-subtly refers to the Red Cross shenanigans in the earlier sequences, and how much Jack has changed since then… Subtle? No, but effective nonetheless.
AnnaSophia Robb, after her turns in “Bridge to Terabithia” and the more recent “The Way Way Back,” displays real maturity and grasp of character in the lead, although she is more believable when “fake-charming” than “real-goth.” Cohen and Janssen are decent, but the formulaic script doesn’t give them much leeway with nuance. Tonye Patano as Jack’s probation officer, and Drena De Niro (yes! the young De Niro!) as Jack’s counsellor, provide memorable albeit too-brief support.
The film is stuffed with the aforementioned formula. Sappy moments abound, most involving the central romance, which feels “Twilight”-ish and out of place; e.g. Jack rescues Robert from pretentious bullies by kissing him in front of them, and consequently putting them all in the right place. Another particularly abrasive, “sisters being forcefully separated” scene at the end, carried all the pathos of “Sophie’s Choice” and none of its tragedy. And God, I’m getting so sick of all the twangy music in low-key American indie films! Scott Cohen literally picks up a guitar and twangs away – let’s just say the actor should stick to his day job.
It’s not that the film is poorly made or even unentertaining – it just offers virtually no surprises, delivering a predictable, made-for-TV storyline – “arrogant girl learns about selflessness” – in a somewhat-clunky fashion. What’s admirable is how believable the details of “life with autism” are laid out, lacking the gloss of similar Hollywood fare. (“Rain Man” is even referenced in a gently funny remark.) “Jack of the Red Hearts” clearly stems from personal experience and/or investment. “You look retarded,“ Jack says at one point, and Robert voices all of of us by answering, “You’re not supposed to say that.” Janet Grillo’s film is a reminder of how tough autism truly is, without embellishments. I just wish the film – its characterizations and plot turns – was less Lifetime, and more lifelike.
Opens this Friday, Feb. 26th in L.A. at the AMC Burbank 8 and Orange 30
