Heaven Knows What

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Claudio C Heaven Knows What (2014) Junkie’s Love (12,060 – 13 Nov 2025 – by Claudio Carvalho) In New York City, the homeless junkie addicted in heroin Harley (Arielle Holmes) is in deep unrequited love with the junkie Ilya (Caleb Landry Jones). When he dumps her, she buys a Gillette and tries to commit suicide, cutting her wrist. She returns to the streets, and the junkie Mike (Buddy Duress) takes care of her and provides bags of heroin to her. Meanwhile, she begs on the streets and commits petty thefts. But despite the abusive treatment of Ilya towards her, Harley is still in love with him. "Heaven Knows What" (2014) is a movie by Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie about homeless addicted in heroin people and junkie’s love in New York City. The story is simple due to the theme, but the performances are impressive, highlighting Arielle Holmes, Buddy Duress and Caleb Landry Jones. In the end, this movie impresses the viewer due to its realism. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Amor, Drogas e Nova York" ("Love, Drugs and New York") My Blog: https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/ Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/13/25 Full Review Alec B What's shocking isn't the violence, drug use, or how the characters suffer, it's how authentic all those things feel. I'm not sure I could ever bring myself to revisit this film, but I appreciate that something this raw exists. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/14/23 Full Review jed i 5.7/10 — "Mediocre"/"Passable" Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The story behind this film is both inspiring and unbelievable. Arielle Holmes was a homeless New York crack addict in her early twenties. Shortly after her recovery, while she was an intern at a New York jewel shop, the Safdie brothers discovered her during research for another film (you can probably deduce which one). They advised her to write a memoir. She did so, and they adapted it for the big screen with Holmes herself playing a fictionalized version of herself, not as Arielle but as Harley, a character going through events painfully similar to the real thing, roaming the streets of New York City with other young people lost in the folly of drugs. You don't get to see this level of authenticity in a film too often. Filming exclusively on location, Josh and Benny Safdie prove with their first somewhat mainstream film that neorealistic blood goes through their veins. With the help of Holmes' excruciatingly real performance, they tell a story of suffering, addiction and toxic relationships (in the most literal sense). Still, what I find most exceptional in Heaven Knows What and also what makes it a challenging and fascinating exercise in filmmaking is the slightly expressionistic meat on the neorealistic bones, with an eerie soundtrack and some neon-lighted shots that effectivelly transport you right inside Harley's scarred heart. The Safdies would eventually flesh out this side to their directorial personas in the later, excellent Good Time. This is where they demonstrated what visceral filmmakers they are, their unique style pulsating in every shot of their career. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review júlio a A história de uma viciada e seu amor...o filme é bem complicado, praticamente a rotina inteira de uma viciado e suas angústias. Mas é bem atuado e filmado. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I needed to be shaken. To feel awake. My hangover suddenly felt worse. It's an intense experience to watch people tripping over and over again on heroin. Their lives running in circle, on repeat. The defeat that life becomes in a parallel world caused by addiction. At least the weather felt really nice on that warm February night. Walking to a bar. I needed a drink. Listening to Radiohead in my headphones. Music that always help me to move forward from mixed feelings that I can catch every now and then. The movie has an intense violence on the sentiments. Everything seems to be on point to truly fuck you up in the head like the characters in the picture. The dirt. The pain. The need. The lost possibilities. Replay again and again. The perfect elements put together. A book written by Arielle Holmes. Mad Love in New York. A fiction of her own life in a movie where she plays her story. She's the main character. Ariel Pink is in charge of the music. Putting the mind of the Safdie brothers behind the camera and the result is a unique piece of art. A masterpiece. I thought Good Times was out of this world but it has just been over passed by Heaven Knows What. I must watch Uncut Gems and all the other Safdie brothers early work now. So much darkness in this film. I'm still very blasted from my experience but here I am sitting at the bar. Love of the common people by Nicky Thomas playing in the background. I'm waiting for my lover while I've already started drinking my beer. I think i'll manage to feel normal again. Soon. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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