Titled The Good Boy in other countries but flipped in the US as to not get confused with last years dog-centric horror film, Heel is a twisted thriller from Academy Award nominated director Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi). It follows a 19-year-old criminal Tommy (Anson Boon) who is kidnapped and forced into a rehabilitation process by dysfunctional couple Chris (Stephen Graham) and Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough). Boasting strong performances, a twisty premise and the perfect blend of dark comedy and intense drama, Heel plays its cards close to its chest and provides an engaging watch in the process.
Getting straight into things within the first five minutes, Heel’s plot engages you right from the start. We are thrust into a loud, chaotic world of partying, drink, drugs, sex and fighting alongside Boon’s Tommy, until his night is cut short in a surprise, violent manner. Waking up in a dank basement with a metal collar and chain around his neck, the story lets us into a world of interesting social commentary, intense horror-esque thrills and a plot in which you never quite know where it’s going next. It becomes clear pretty promptly that Graham’s Chris has one goal on his hands – tame the youth gone wild, force him into reform and prevent any more antisocial behavior from occurring. But does forcing someone into reform do any good? That’s up to Chris to figure out. With that goal comes themes of control and classism, as the obviously wealthy captors force their working class prisoner into rehabilitation, and as the title suggests, turn him more into a family pet than a human being. You could also go as far as viewing Heel as a dissection of the nuclear family. What appears to be picture perfect on the outside is quite the creepy opposite once you peel back the layers. For a simplistic story of a captor and his victim, it’s very thematically rich, elevating the plot into something wholly original.
It’s easy to wonder whether Heel would be a lesser project with a different cast, but luckily that’s by the by, as the performances are fantastic and really help the script excel. Graham plays the deranged captor effortlessly, adding a bubbling anger underneath a calm outer layer that makes him quite interesting. He’s actually kinder than you’d expected, and shows a real level of care towards Tommy – this only increases the pitch black humor as sometimes, it feels like the pair are actually getting somewhere and forming some kind of messed up friendship. If you’ve seen a couple of Boon’s projects by now, it may seem like he’s playing himself within Heel, but boy does he do it well. Natural and believable as youth run wild Tommy, it’s hard to imagine anyone else in this role playing him so realistically. Boon and Graham bounce off each other perfectly, thus creating the films best asset. Riseborough (Mandy) may be the most nuanced element to this chaotic film, but she makes her presence known and is eerily formidable at times. It’s often a risk or detriment to a film when no character is particularly likable, but with Heel, it somehow makes things even more interesting. You’ll find yourself rooting for different people at different times, wanting relationships to come to fruition that you likely should, and almost rooting for the wrong thing. Is it so bad to wish for Tommy to right his wrongs and build a family with these psychopaths?
Whether Heel sticks the landing is very much going to be down to the individual – it’s likely to be a divisive one. By the time the credits roll, it isn’t completely clear what the overall message is, and any it does send are very mixed. Admittedly, it is unique and bold for a script to both condone and condemn the behaviors displayed as it goes along, but ultimately, it makes for a misguided watch. There’s also some questions that go unanswered, largely involving someone that may have been in this position before Tommy, which is very frustrating as said answers are hinted it and flirted with throughout the run-time. Clocking in at just under two hours, the run-time feels a little inflated for the story being told, and becomes repetitive around the middle as viewers are itching to see how this story plays out. These are only slight hindrances that don’t mean Heel is a wasted watch, but the ending may make some feel as though the journey wasn’t worth the destination.
Taut, messed up thrillers such as this are hard to come by, and Heel is a really impressive one. Dark comedy, an unpredictable story and a script rich with thematic development are backed by some wickedly impressive performances from the whole cast. It might be too long and get muddled in its end goal, but it doesn’t prevent it from soaring. If you’re at all intrigued by this plot, you’ll undoubtedly get enjoyment from this twisted tale.
Rating: B
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Heel (The Good Boy)
19-year-old criminal Tommy is kidnapped and forced into a rehabilitation process by dysfunctional couple Chris and Kathryn, who try to make him a ‘good boy’. Tommy must find a way to escape.
