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.
Review of Untamed Heart
