Matthew Garrett's Beating Hearts: Star-Crossed and Blood-Spattered

Beating Hearts (2010)
Written and Directed by Matthew Garrett

Obsession is a word I attach to few things, but there are instances where an artist's work completely takes over my brain. It rarely happens, but when it does, I find myself digging and digging at it until something bleeds or a restraining order is issued. To me, Matthew Garrett's moving short Beating Hearts is one such work. I've literally watched it eighteen times (and counting), and just as I think I've found all the answers, I notice something new. I get increasingly more puzzled each time I view it, and for that I love it. It's not that the narrative is overly complicated or hard to follow. Not at all. It's the fact that the film is so layered with subtle symbolism that I find myself sighing in awe of it all. Garrett isn't one of those filmmakers who hits you over the head with the thematic elements. He trusts that his audience is intelligent enough to figure out the clues, and refreshingly doesn't pander.

Beating Hearts starts with a bang disguised as a whisper, and a bloody one at that. I'm hesitant to even outline the story because it would give away too much. On a tranquil morning, a young girl awakens her mother in a seemingly innocuous manner. After a surprise occurance, the somber girl finds herself fleeing with her grandfather on a boat heading for an unknown destination and a staggeringly depressing climax. In between is Garrett's twisted take on family dysfunction, one that will leave you breathless.

Beating Hearts is anchored by great performances from the leads Gianna Bruzzese as "the girl" and Peter Coriaty as "the grandfather". At once understated and commanding, each do a stellar job of capturing the necessary tone for the bleak film. My hat is off to Garrett for finding such talented actors to fill the uncomfortable shoes of the characters. The work of Bruzzese in particular needs mentioned as she tackled the provocative story with a maturity nearly impossible to find in American child actors. 

Another aspect that makes Beating Hearts excel is the perfect pacing. The editing is concise and sparing and a perfect compliment to the meticulous shooting. Each beautifully composed shot and subsequent piecing is perfectly rendered . Remember when I talked about obsession up at the top? Well, clearly I'm not the only one. With Beating Hearts, along with as his excellent feature film Morris County, Garrett has proven that a little obsession might be just what we all need.

Garrett's worlds are populated by monsters, but they are the human sort that makes it hard to tell them apart from the "normal" people. In his work, where family might offer refuge and safety, they nearly always provide catastrophe and ruin. His suburban landscapes are no less dangerous than the more tradionally violent counterparts, those places from which suburbanites fled, but secretly brought their own brand of horror. Garrett knows what lurks in the hearts and minds of the inhabitants, and proves that nowhere is, indeed, safe. 

Beating Hearts is making waves on the festival circuit, receiving accolades from audiences and critics alike. We had the pleasure of screening the film as part of our monthly series and look forward to the future work of the immensely talented Mr. Garrett.