Bullet Points: Sweetheart (2019)
Director J.D. Dillard is a hot commodity. I saw just the other day that he was on Adam Green and Joe Lynch’s podcast Movie Crypt and recent talk is he may be in line to do a Star Wars film for Disney. I don’t care who you are, that is some big time stuff! Ron Howard, J.J. Abrams, and J.D. Dillard….kind of wild. So I had to check out some of Dillard’s recent work and lucky for me, I found this little monster movie on Netflix. Let’s check it out!
Synopsis: Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) has washed ashore a small tropical island and it doesn’t take her long to realize she’s completely alone. She must spend her days not only surviving the elements, but must also fend off the malevolent force that comes out each night.
- Castaway: Jenn arrives on a small isolated island along with another member of her group. He isn’t looking so good and eventually dies. Everything points to the idea that their ship sank and they swam/floated ashore. It’s a small island and Jenn pretty much instantly goes into Tom Hanks Castaway mode. She makes attempts at shelter and fire but it isn’t until she find an abandoned campsite with some matches that she’s finally in business.
- Illumination: She’s pretty decent at this whole survival thing. Better than most people would be in that situation. What’s more incredible is when she hears a plane fly overhead at night and fires a flare into the sky and sees a strange creature coming out of the water. It’s an awesome visual, to say the least, and it would be scary as hell for someone stuck out there by themselves. Jenn must go into hide to survive mode as the creatures clearly wants to eat her for midnight snack.
- Sleeping methods: One of the most important jobs for Jenn during the day is to figure out how to not get killed by this creature that comes out at night. In fact, most of the film is her getting food during the day and figuring out a way to not get eaten at night. She does it all; little lean-to’s, a hollowed-out log, a hammock, but nothing really offers her the protection she needs.
- Survivors: Thankfully Jenn isn’t the only person to survive from her boat. A raft floats ashore and her boyfriend and another girl get off. This entire film takes place over just a handful of days so it isn’t that crazy to think that they made it a few days drifting. Poor Jenn, though. First she has to deal with a murderous creature and now she must deal with these losers….
- Deserted island drama: The newly landed survivors are absolutely worthless. Jenn is trying to gather enough food to survive out on the sea with the raft and all they can do is whine. I can understand why they don’t want to immediately jump back onto the raft they just came from. It doesn’t take long, however, for the night time visitor to change their minds about leaving the island.
- Going Dutch: The moment that I love most in movies like this is when the survivor all of the sudden turns into Arnold’s character from Predator (or was it Adrien Brody from Predators?) and goes to town the monster. There’s probably a pretty good character study somewhere about how Jenn could never be self-sufficient in the real world but totally kicks ass on a deserted island. She learns and thinks on her feet and ultimately gives us the climactic battle we crave in a film like this.
The Verdict: I loved Sweetheart! It hit me in all those places that a movie like this should. It’s equal parts Castaway and Predator with a strong hint of the excellent Cold Skin from a few years ago. Kiersey Clemons is the star of the movie and is in every scene. It’s her arc from helpless survivor to badass survivor that drives the film and by the end you’ll be cheering on Jenn for not only her ability to survive but for her ability to think on her feet and overcome. I’m a big fan and I hope that J.D. Dillard gets all the Disney money he’s every dreamed of.