On H List of Movie Reviews

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Heart Beat (1980)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 1/17

1/17: Jack Kerouac published On the Road in 1957, and it became the most influential book of the decade, setting off a cultural revolution while paving the way to the 60's.

There hasn't been a novel like it ever since. Heart Beat is a weak biographical film about Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady (who served as the inspiration for Dean Moriarty, one of the most famous characters in literature). In the middle of the two is Carloyn Cassady who wrote the autobiography Heart Beat: My Life With Jack and Neal that served as the source of the script.

It stars Nick Nolte, John Heard, and Sissy Spacek who all give superb performances. They have great chemistry together, making it easy for me to get through the film. By the way, Ray Sharkey was supposed to play Allen Ginsburg, not Ira Streiker (who?). The famous line "It's not writing, it's typing" did not come from the TV show host but Truman Capote. Here's a nice piece of trivia that's taken from IMDb:

"When Sissy Spacek was told that she did not have the role in Heart Beat, she broke a glass of wine in her hands. The producer was so impressed by the gesture, that he ultimately gave Spacek the role. He handed her a piece of shattered glass and said, 'This clinched the deal.'"

The story is interesting, but I wish it was closer to the truth. There's no substance throughout; the characters just go through the motions, never resolving much. Then, Jack Kerouac's famous book is published, and I witness the aftermath (the parody imitation of the Beatnik get-up is amusing) before the movie ends. They should have added a footnote, informing me of what happened to everybody.

All in all, Heart Beat has everything I can hope for a serious film, but it fails to deliver the goods.

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