Untamed Heart (1993)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Released in 1993, "Untamed Heart" tells the story of Caroline (Marisa Tomei) who works the night shift at a Minneapolis diner. She's a beautiful and likable young woman but, for some reason, is unable to maintain the romantic interest of the guys she dates. The answer to her love problems turns out to be right under her nose in the form of the diner's quiet dishwasher/janitor, Adam (Christian Slater)."Untamed Heart" is a must for fans of Marisa Tomei (see the film and you'll see why) and the romance between Caroline and Adam works, although their sexual union is premature IMHO, but real-time has to be condensed into a 102-minute film so I guess it can be overlooked.What struck me most about this film, aside from Marisa, was the character of Adam. He's an outcast; he doesn't fit with the crowd; he's quiet and mysterious in a misfit type of way; he's an easy target for people to mock; he's content to adore Caroline from a distance; his love for her doesn't change as she keeps making mistakes trying to find someone to love; he secretly acts as her guardian angel and doesn't care about getting credit.Why is Caroline attracted to such a person? Because "opposites attract." We're naturally attracted to people that have what we lack and vice versa. Caroline is open, talkative and comfortable with practically any social setting; Adam isn't. Adam is aloof, meditative and unconcerned about fitting in -- qualities Caroline lacks.You'll see people like Adam in real life if you open your eyes. At a local restaurant I sometimes catch a glimpse of one of the kitchen workers, whether taking a smoke break outside or whatever. He's in his mid-30s, maybe older, obviously intelligent with a striking appearance, but he's quiet and aloof from the people around him, with an air of mystery. This is a person, like Adam in the film, who doesn't fit into society's mold -- college doesn't work for him despite his intelligence, nor does a conventional job; he just does what he has to to live.The film is very successful at bringing to life this type of outcast in the character of Adam. I found it quite moving. I understand and can relate.Not everything in the story works, however, which is why I knock off a star in my rating. For instance, it isn't even remotely believable that Adam would be able to secretly break into Marisa's house and set up a Christmas tree in her bedroom while she's sleeping, especially in light of the fact that there are other family members sleeping there as well. Dumb. What were the writers thinking? The film was shot on location in NE Minneapolis.GRADE: B

Sweet at times, "Untamed Heart" is a largely incredulous romantic drama about a shy guy called Adam (Christian Slater) who falls in love with a cute waitress played by Marisa Tomei.The film is tapping into powerful, primal twin fantasies. Adam is quiet, sexy, strong, and protective, carrying Marisa home, defending her from rapists, showering her with gifts and showing her ceaseless affection. Females in the audience drool when he's on screen.Marisa, meanwhile, is a bundle of sex, walking around in bra and panties, oozing a careful mixture of cuteness, innocence and sexuality and batting her eyelids like a doe-eyed puppy. Guys in the audience drool when she's on screen.Our idealised couple, playing their parts for all the loner's in the world, of course fall in love. They spend Christmas together, kiss, and then Adam dies of a heart condition. From here the film turns into Arthur Hiller's "Love Story". While the film is moody in places, has a number of very good scenes, makes interesting use of a Suzanne Vega song, features an atmospheric, noirish diner, and contains cute performances by Slater and Marisa, its impossible to take a film seriously which randomly resorts to heart conditions and out-of-nowhere rape scenes to cook up drama. This is a film which knows that saving a woman from being attacked (and kicking the attackers butt!) is every male's macho fantasy (and every woman loves a man who will fight for her!), and so literally throws that scene in to bring about its couple's union. Literally.7.5/10 – The "Twilight" of the 90s.

Christian Slater is a young man with rather freakishly long hair who has been raised in an orphanage and now works as a dishwasher in a Minneapolis diner. He rarely speaks and keeps to himself. Marisa Tomei is a waitress in said diner, and Rosie Perez is her earthy but sympathetic sidekick. Slater has developed a crush on Tomei and follows her around at a discreet distance, so when she's attacked while walking home from work he's able to rescue her. Later, her attackers wreak an unpleasant revenge on Slater. All of this brings the two of them together. Slater lets her know, in his recedent way, that he adores her, and she responds by falling for this shy, silent kinda guy. Their love is, how you say, consummated. But there is a problem. Slater was told by the nuns at his orphanage that he's had a heart transplant, with the donor being a baboon. Whether that's the case or not, his heart is now weakened and needs a booster shot, which Slater is unready to undergo. Eventually his heart, simian or hominid, beats its last, but not before he's had a heck of a good time exchanging tender gestures and body fluids with Marisa Tomei.I can't really tell if this is a particularly well-done example of the genre because I watch so few examples. I could see most of the developments coming, and so would you. And the crooning of Johnny Mathis and Nat "King" Cole's mystical pop song, "Nature Boy," from the 1950s really wasn't necessary. We get the picture. Slater is quiet, shy, and mysterious -- like Montgomery Clift in "A Place in the Sun" -- the sort of man who attracts women, but only in the movies. In real life I would imagine that he would absorb the attention of women who were chiefly neurotics. A research plan for young men who DON'T look like Montgomery Clift: Get a menial job, speak to no one, don't meet anyone's gaze, and see what happens. If you save a co-worker from rape, you might get a Thank You note and a box of chocolates.Well, I've made sufficient fun of the movie and it's a bit unfair, like stretching the iridescent wings of a butterfly on the rack. It's supposed to be a sweet and endearing story, and it is, even if it's some mutant form of Beauty and the Beast. At least I was able to get into it, though I hadn't expected to.The "Nature Boy" business was an irritant, and the baboon heart slipped motionlessly by me, but Slater is quietly effective in the role and Marisa Tomei is quite good and thoroughly believable as a sensitive young woman who serves ham and eggs and reads "Catch 22" at home. Rosie Perez is always a kick in the pants too.The film stands as a beacon of hope for those of us who trudge off to work, looking exactly the way we feel, and yet suffer from an intense desire to find love in an unpromising milieu. Or anywhere else.

UNTAMED HEART tells the story of the romance between a lovelorn diner waitress (Tomei) and shy busboy (Slater). It is a sad, sweet movie without the usual gloss and pretension that ruin so many filmed love stories. These are working class people living working class lives. Tomei is touching as a woman who has been hurt once too often but who still holds out hope. Slater gives one of his best performances as the virtually mute busboy with both social and health problems. A heart-tugging vignette at the very beginning, involving the busboy as child in a Catholic orphanage, foreshadows later events in the film. Slater underplays beautifully, and thankfully so as this is Tomei's film all the way. She never looked more beautiful than she does here. Watch for the Christmas morning scene. Tomei wakes up to a special magic thanks to her busboy pal, and magnificently conveys her sense of wonder. Beware, however: UNTAMED HEART (BOY WITH A BABOON HEART would have been a better title) is a two-box of Kleenex.