Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: HEARTWORM [Dances With Films LA - Los Angeles, California - Virtual]
The intention of memory is an interesting play and of course the penchant or virtual worlds through dreaming and subconscious has been explored in bigger budget fare like "Inception" and "The Matrix". However it is harder to do on a smaller budget without money for FX. “Heartworm” (Feature) does quite a bit with its concept though it does take a while to establish what we are seeing. The tells and depths of what level we are on are not abundantly clear. That said, the final scene and the culmination of Amber Gray’s performance there using an interesting metaphor really works and is infinitely cinematic. The film is a parable on grieving but sometimes it is unsure of itself it in its perspective. Halfway through it really recognizes that it is truly from the POV of Avena (Gray). Her husband Mark (Juan Redinger) deals with it (and his reality) in his own way.
But the context of NueraLife, which is the tech fueling this unconscious) is spoken in rather than shown so it is does take a little imagination to deduce what might otherwise be explained. There is a concept of a deeper tech called Second Life which is also alluded to but not really explained. In this world people can impersonate others in a way but if such a tech was this widespread it would have some kind of controls on it. Avena’s perceptions as they go on could be indicative of a breakdown or the wanderings of a mind in a coma. One scene later on with a family member alludes to that though it is hard to know if he is a redundant memory, a representation of someone else or literally a planted engram. These are all very heady and cool discussions to be having, especially with a lower budget genre film shot in limited locations. But even disappearing people done in the way it is done fuels the imagination. The concept of "Heartworm" is interesting and Gray makes you believe it. Again the final scene bringing visual and acting together really sells it elevating the material. A-
By Tim Wassberg
