大象传媒

Teeming with trauma from first till last, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things is an overwrought and underwhelming study of childhood abuse. Adapted from cult writer JT LeRoy's autobiographical novel, it's co-written and directed by xXx firebrand Asia Argento. She also stars as Sarah, a truck-stop hooker who drags her young son Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett) from one dodgy surrogate dad to another. Argento's heart may be in the right place, but her mind's too full of ideas for the film to strike a clear chord.

The main problem is that Jeremiah gets lost in the manic mix. The lens may lock us into his point of view, but we don't hear his voice as in the book, leaving him to fight a losing battle against all the distractions that Argento piles on. First there's the freewheeling excess of her visuals, from crazy camera angles to animated talking coals (yes, really). Then there's the endless parade of bit-parters: Peter Fonda as a Bible-preaching fruit loop, Winona Ryder as a child psychologist and - an admittedly fascinating sight - shock rocker Marilyn Manson without his makeup.

"SOME RAW, POWERFUL MOMENTS"

Most attention-seeking of all, though, is Argento's performance. Looking like a roughed-up Courtney Love, her wild-eyed, scenery-munching theatrics dominate the film to a damaging degree. True, there are some raw, powerful moments - one belt-whipping scene is almost impossible to watch - and you're compelled to keep watching by the sheer derangement of it all. But this doesn't have the impact or insight of The Woodsman or Mysterious Skin. Ultimately, it's a white-trash freak show that sensationalises more than it empathises.