Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, co-written by Armyan Bernstein, a couple has a fight after living together 5 years in Las Vegas. They go out and celebrate 4th of July, each with a new partner. Breakup? Starring: Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski, Lainie Kazan, Harry Dean Stanton and Allen Garfield.
Most popular, iconic directors will have at least one film under their belt that doesn’t gel with everyone, the outlier that’s perhaps not appreciated by the many but beloved by the few. For Francis Ford Coppola that film is One from the Heart, it’s an eclectic, sporadic and seize the day style picture. It has a frantic, flighty and romantic energy yet everything is tinged with an apathy or surprising realism, domestic arguments and disappointment, like a slightly broken fairytale. It’s undoubtedly a strange blend but its quirky nature is charming.
One of the things that quickly comes to mind with its visual is that it has to have been an influence on Baz Luhrmann, you can see a lot of his style represented One from the Heart, ten years before he entered the scene. It truly takes on board the feel of a musical, the scale and big presence, giving a grand feel, it’s extravagant for the sake of being extravagant. It’s something we don’t get to see a lot of these days, so it’s a joy to see here, especially with the fantastic restoration work. It’s a musically altered reality that imbibes Vegas, holding onto that risk it all, leave it up to fate style atmosphere.
However, interestingly with the new Reprise cut, One from the Heart changes dramatically. It not only loses over a dozen minutes of runtime, it also loses something from its energy, story and pacing. The way that it moves becomes clunky and it doesn’t give us a proper introduction to ease into these characters, which takes a lot of sympathy away from Hank (Frederic Forrest). There’s an unsettled feel to it because it simply can’t get into the flow of things. Although the one thing it does add is the fantastic opening credits sequence, building upon the original and massively upping the quality.
Although one element which does not change no matter the cut, is the great performances from this unique cast. Starting with Teri Garr, coming from that strong comedy background, it gives her the skills to put a lot of sarcastic or comedic edge on the dialogue, as well as bringing a bigger physicality to the role. Frederic Forrest sets up the classic jealous, lazy husband but he also has a sensitive, lovestruck puppy side to him. The two make a slightly unhealthy but well-suited duo, needing to see them apart to appreciate them together.
Raul Julia is as charming and suave as ever but there’s also an unabashed and perhaps unearned confidence and supremely relaxed nature that make for a flirtatious and freewheeling presence. Harry Dean Stanton is always a welcome sight in any film, it’s just a shame we don’t get to see too much of him. Then Nastassja Kinski gives us the mysterious and intriguing ingénue Leila, naïve yet there’s a hidden wisdom somewhere that makes her very interesting. As well as the forever entertaining and warm presence that is Lainie Kazan.
One from the Heart is a musical unlike most others, straying from the traditional path to create something eclectic and endearingly strange. It plays to the beat of its own drum, taking in familiar themes and styles yet creating a new recipe, one filled with colour and energy. It won’t work for everyone, you have to simply go with its flow and appreciate its grandiose charms, but with a lot of style, a superb cast and a strong hand at the wheel, it’s a gamble you should take.
