Heaven Knows What (2014)
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The story
Harley, a homeless heroin addict in New York City, is dumped by her lover, Ilya, following a recent infidelity. Desperate for his forgiveness, she asks if he would forgive her if she died, to which he coldly agrees. After purchasing razor blades, she is encouraged by a friend to move on, but Ilya eventually returns and urges her to take her own life. Following a suicide attempt that leads to her hospitalization, Harley is eventually discharged and begins navigating the streets with a friend, seeking out a drug dealer to secure her next fix.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Harley, a homeless heroin addict in New York City, is dumped by her lover, Ilya, for infidelity. When she asks if he would forgive her if she died, he says yes. She attempts suicide with razor blades but is saved by Ilya, who calls an ambulance, resulting in her psychiatric hospitalization. Upon release, Harley meets a drug dealer named Mike. Tensions rise between Ilya and Mike, leading to a fight where Ilya injures Mike. Despite the conflict, Harley confesses her love for Ilya to Mike, who leaves in frustration. Later, Harley receives a call that Ilya is unconscious from an overdose; she revives him, and they reconcile, boarding a bus to Miami. While Harley sleeps, Ilya leaves the bus alone and enters a vacant house, where a candle fire causes him to be burned alive. Harley wakes up alone on the bus, returns to New York, and sits silently with Mike as he recounts the story of their fight.
- First release year
- 2014
- Runtime (minutes)
- 94
- Production countries
- United States; France
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Josh Safdie; Benny Safdie
- Writers
- Josh Safdie · writer; Ronald Bronstein · writer
- Cast and characters
- Arielle Holmes · Harley Boggs; Buddy Duress · Mike; Necro · Skully; Eleonore Hendricks · Erica; Caleb Landry Jones · Ilya; Yuri Pleskun · Tommy
- Genres
- psychological drama
- Themes
- drug addiction; self-harm; homelessness; codependency
- Tone and mood
- grueling; harrowing; textural
- Premise and plot tags
- based on non-fiction; biographical; gritty
- Source material / true-story basis
- Mad Love in New York City by Arielle Holmes
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Arielle Holmes' performance and the Safdie brothers' direction and use of music.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 89% · review count: 70; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.4/10 · scale: 10 · review count: 70; Metacritic · score: 75 · scale: 100 · review count: 22
- Production trivia
- The film is dedicated to Ilya Leontyev, Holmes' former boyfriend who died of a drug overdose in April 2015.; The film was listed as one of the best 25 movies of 2015 by IndieWire.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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