Review

Director Bell picks up where Streetwise, his gripping 1984 documentary about Seattle street kids, left off with this hard-edged, brutally honest depiction of an ex-convict father and his teenage son scrapping for both a living and reconciliation. In a startling performance, Bridges plays a recently paroled jewel thief who is reunited with his estranged son (Furlong). The two move into a sleazy Seattle apartment building living amongst the city's underbelly and forgotten classes. As Bridges attempts to go straight and, however improbably, act as head of this fragile family unit, Furlong takes up with a youthful street clique, slowly entangling him in a life of petty crime. American Heart is unflinching in its realistic portrayal of life on the edge, and only misses the mark at the very end with an unsatisfactory finale. Bridges' stinging portrayal is smartly complemented by Furlong's anguished dreamer.