The official trailer for Heel, titled Good Boy, has been released in Australia, the UK, Ireland and other territories (no, it’s not a horror movie starring a dog). Stephen Graham (Adolescence) returns to the realm of troubled fathers, but the young man at the center of this film is not his own. Directed by Jean Comasa, whose 2019 film Corpus Christi was nominated for an Oscar for Best International Feature Film, the film promises a horrifying psychological descent where discipline, control, and brutality blur. Watch the trailer above, then read on.
“Reform” quickly turning into something evil
The trailer introduces us to 19-year-old Tommy (Anson Boone, Mobland), a violent, directionless hooligan who drifts through a cycle of drugs, parties, and self-destruction. Separated from his friends during a night out, Tommy wakes up chained in the basement of an eerily quiet suburban home.
His captor is Chris (Graham), who lives there with his wife Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough) and young son Jonathan (Kit Laxen). What at first appears to be a misguided attempt at discipline soon reveals itself to be something much more sinister. Tommy is subjected to a distorted behavioral “correction” regime enforced through shackles, surveillance, self-help tape, and escalating corporal punishment.
Stephen Graham talks about Jean Komasa’s ‘amazing madman’ energy
Graham spoke candidly about what drew him to the project, noting the unpredictability of Komasa and the challenge of stepping into a completely different rhythm of work. In an interview with Screen Daily, he described the director as a “wonderful madman” and said Komasa was “sometimes frustratingly crazy, but at other times he’s pure genius and a lovely person, but his style and his way of doing things is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
He explained that once the cast understood what director Komasa was aiming for, they committed themselves to the process. “I think it was the same with Andrea. And so was Anson. We were like, ‘Wow, okay,’ and we went with it. It was, ‘Let’s understand his vision and see what it is,'” Graham said, calling the shoot an uncharted but rewarding experience that ultimately served the film well.
Graham also frames Chris and Kathryn’s actions as something the characters rationalize as a guide, even though the film pushes the idea into much uglier territory. “For me and Andrea’s characters, they’re trying to teach[Tommy]a different way of living, even if it’s brutal,” he said. “But what Tommy thinks is freedom outside of the world they’ve been brought into is not real freedom.” Graham added that Tommy “has built a character that he feels he has to be in order to survive,” describing him as a young man “trying to find a sense of identity.”
release date
The film premiered on the festival circuit under the title “Good Boy” and was later retitled “Heels” for release in the United States. Heels will be released in US cinemas on March 6th, and Good Boy will be released in the UK and Ireland on March 20th.
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