Heartland

This movie was well acted and put together, and I enjoyed it. However, it in no way matched the description, from my point of view and the whole thing was a little obvious. I mean literally 10 minutes into the film, i knew more or less what was going to happen.

Heartland may not be "Gone with the wind" or "The Seventh Seal" or "Ugetsu", but it's a very good film. The action develops slowly enough to allow you to empathize with the characters, especially with the contradictory feelings of Lauren. The two young actress design two very peculiar characters: Lauren, the seducer, who is irresistibly attractive because of her livelihood and her warmth; Carrie, a woman who has put into brackets spontaneity and passion, discovers how she can have real and deep feelings thanks to Lauren, even though, or perhaps because, her affair with Lauren destroys the flat and conventional relationship she was having with her fiancé. She was herself a very conventional being, almost abstract, incapable of going beyond convention, but she is kind of reborn thanks the deep emotions that she feels with Lauren. All this is very quickly, almost casually expressed; by rapid dialogues, in a very delicate way, through understatements. The film contains many other things beside that: the relationship between Lauren and her brother, that becomes suddenly a complex mixture of love and resentment; and the figure of the mother, unbearable and still beloved... The movie is complex and apparently simple. Worth seeing.

A colleague and I saw this movie because we thought the plot was very interesting and somehow original, the movie starts promising, but the minutes pasts and nothing happens, and nothing happens, sometimes gets very boring, we were expecting a more fluid romance, flirting, or some sensual scenes. And besides this we didn't identify with her pain and her grief, the story gets boring and boring. If you expect a reckless affair don't watch this movie.

Heartland (2016) was directed by Maura Anderson. It stars Velinda Godfrey as Lauren, a young lesbian woman whose partner has just died. Lauren moves back to her family home in Guthrie, Oklahoma, to live with her mother, Crystal. (Played amazingly well by Beth Grant.) Crystal has been a widow for 15 years. She spends her time scrapbooking and going to church. She's unfailingly cheerful. She loves her daughter, but won't accept the fact that Lauren is a lesbian. Enter Lauren's brother, Justin (Aaron Leddick), who knows how to pray when he has to pray, and how to earn money when there's money to be earned. His fiancé, Carrie (Laura Spencer) is from the Napa Valley, and she's out of place in Guthrie. When Justin has to leave on a business trip, it falls to Lauren to provide guidance for Carrie about the Guthrie culture. That's where the plot really begins. I enjoyed this film, but it wasn't a movie I would recommend enthusiastically. It was interesting, but not ultimately satisfying. We saw this film at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, as the opening movie of ImageOut, the outstanding LGBTQ film festival. This was Heartland's New York State Premiere.( Everyone assumes that any independent film that will open in NYS will open in New York City. Not always.) Director Maura Anderson was present for Q&A after the film. What she saw as the strength of her film was what made me slightly uncomfortable. Nothing really was resolved at the end. That's the film she wanted, and that's the film she made. I'm impressed at the way she carried out her concept from the start to the finish, and I give her my compliments. P.S. For some reason IMDb won't accept my vote for this movie. I would have given it an 8. P.P.S. Although Guthrie is only about 20 mile outside of Oklahoma City, it really is a rural part of the state. The National Finals Steer Roping Rodeo is held in Guthrie.

I was surprised the IMDb rating wasn't higher. This is one where you should watch it and decide for yourself. I didn't expect a lot, but it far surpassed my expectations and went quite a way beyond. The portrayal of someone coping with the loss of a loved one to cancer was spot-on. They also nailed the confused and messy state of attraction and love. The portrayal of family life and a conservative community? Also apt. Thought the lead actress' performance was especially good. If you're looking for a cheap woman-on woman-movie (which, admittedly, can have its benefits at times), this is mostly not it (there was one notably passionate encounter). If you want a drama punctuated with a bit of humor that will leave you wanting a big glass of red wine, this is it.