Movie released in 1995 directed and written by
James Mangold (
Girl, Interrupted,
Copland) and starring
Pruitt Taylor Vince,
Liv Tyler,
Evan Dando,
Shelley Winters and
Deborah Harry. Fabulous soundtrack by
Thurston Moore of
Sonic Youth. Won the
Sundance Special Jury Prize in 1995.
Heavy is a fantastic movie starring Vince as Victor, a short order cook working in his mother's (Shelley Winters') diner, and his struggle to connect with Callie, the new waitress (Liv Tyler). Be warned, this is not a movie for action fans; very few things actually happen in the movie. But that's the point; Heavy is aiming to be a picture of real life, where everyone has flaws but tries to make do with what they have. Victor tries to understand how to live life as an overweight man with no friends and little future; Callie has to decide whether she wants to grow up. Mangold does an excellent job of framing their lives with long drawn out shots of the bleakness of the landscape of upstate New York. I reiterate - this is a slow, slow movie. The Straight Story kind of slow… almost. But if you have the patience, it's absolutely worth it.