UNTAMED HEART | Let me introduce you to this questionable ‘90s romantic drama

Рет қаралды 3,964

11 ай бұрын

In which I tell you all about Untamed Heart (1993) starring Marisa Tomei, Christian Slater, and Rosie Perez. I recap the story while providing a couple of tidbits and a critique of the film’s message.

Пікірлер: 38

@nikolugo 6 ай бұрын

I remember my mom renting this movie back in the day

@Tesoro598 8 ай бұрын

Perhaps it’s the age of the person giving her review that makes her not understand the plot. I was 23 when the movie came out and I was just like Caroline: too nice, a dreamer and never meeting the right guy until it was too late. I didn’t see Adam as a stalker, but rather a gentle, misunderstood soul that had difficulty expressing himself. Yes, I would have had an issue with someone breaking into my house to watch me sleep, but tell that to your heart, if someone has just captured it and tells you “I carry your heart in me.” I would have melted in his arms, too.

@delorme9 7 ай бұрын

Exactly right, I too was 23 when this movie came out, it was in January or February of 1993 if my memory serves. I did not see this movie in the theater because none of the theaters in my hometown showed it , I saw it a year later on VHS. I really identified with Adam, I was a shy guy and I am on the Autism spectrum with Aspergers ( although I was not diagnosed until 2004). I do not see Adam as a ' stalker ' either. We didn't use words like ' creepy ' and 'stalker ' back then, we were kinder and gentler in the 80s and 90s. When this movie came out, I had a mad crush on Marisa Tomei ( still do LOL), I really wish I could find a woman like Caroline.

@sonyab1974 2 ай бұрын

Yeah Adam was so sweet and wanted to keep Caroline safe! :) That's all he wanted to do!! You can tell that he loved her just by his actions. Awwwww. :)

@aszak8654 2 ай бұрын

my fav movie

@elleeme9451 5 ай бұрын

He literally says in the movie that he "follows her home to make sure she's safe".

@AthenaBethBlack 6 ай бұрын

This movie was awesome. I adored it and saw it many times back in the day. Guess you had your be there.

@riffraffrichard 8 ай бұрын

The film clearly shows she didn’t like the fact he was stalking her when she first realised it she backs away from him. She builds a relationship despite this as she empathises with the fact he has been starved of closeness and intimacy due to his early life circumstances. I felt it did a good job of showing how she was cautious of him and at first closed off. I think she sees that he doesnt know how to express himself but can feel a pure and innocent love off him. She herself is a little naive chasing love at the start of the film from guys who won’t open their heart and are playing the field. I think she appreciates his sensitivity despite his lack of experience and maturity. As for autistic I’m not sure if it’s a good definition of what’s happened to him, he’s exhibiting withdrawn behaviours from traumatic early life experiences that maybe look like symptoms of autism.

@DavidEmerling79 9 ай бұрын

On the surface, I would agree that it is a bit creepy that Adam was following Caroline home, but Adam is obviously on the spectrum in some way. He's not following her home for the same reason that a "regular" stalker would follow an attractive girl home. In Adam's world, that's true admiration. In any other man's world, it's predatory. I took him at his word that he wanted to make sure she got home safely. I think we should give Adam a pass on this one. Caroline did - and for good reason. One might ask, "How is that scene at the mall protecting her?" Why is he at the mall if not continuing to stalk her? This occurs during that period after she was nearly raped and she does not show up for work for an entire week. I'm sure that concerned Adam. Remember, she was knocked unconscious by her assailant. She probably had some kind of concussion. By the way, the guy who tries to rape Caroline reminds me of the character Biff in the movie, Back to the Future.

@delorme9 7 ай бұрын

Being on the spectrum myself ( Aspergers) I can see how Adam shows signs. I do agree that we should him a pass on following her home as his intentions were honourable. As for the Biff comparison, good call. I never noticed but you're right.

@cynmori619 5 ай бұрын

We also have to consider that Adam had to stay alone as a child due to his health problems, like Caroline said, that must be really hard for a lil boy. Also, as he is very shy he's not used to socialize so he's too introvert but he fell in love with Caroline but lack of confidence to let her know, all he can do is look at her and follow her but not letting her know. That's really sweet 😊.

@JayStar-yj9pu 4 ай бұрын

Btw: Marisa Tomei's character is sweet and sincere but clearly she has issues falling for men who show her the attention she seeks. Slater plays a young man with ZERO social graces because of such little exposure and experience. These two were happy with each other in the story so for ppl outside of that realm to question it, is naive. Personally, I'm less enthusiastic about Slater and Patricia Arquette in True Romance. Tomei's Untamed mirror is The Wrestler. True Romance is Slaters

@adamquiles2468 4 ай бұрын

For me personally this felt like the saddest thing ever watched because of a guy who was born with a bad heart and is pretty much living out his final days because he knows he's dying.

@rkroyston5599 Ай бұрын

I think that’s important and probably the secondary message of the film. If she hadn’t been hunted by the predators they wouldn’t have gotten together and he would have died a nobody that everybody ignored as just the creepy dishwasher. No one would have even known who he really was. For me that was important anyway. Sometimes we just don’t see people who are neurologically different than us.

@Statuskuo75 6 ай бұрын

In context, i saw this film twice in the theater at age 18. Once by myself, second time with a gurl. She did not find it creepy at all. It was the 90s and your world was the parameters of your town. Now it's the scope of the web. Having limited options meant both sides of the relationship considered this devotion. 2023 audience would see this level of commitment as creepy.

@delorme9 5 ай бұрын

I concur with what you said. Although I did not see this film in the theater, the movie theaters in my small town in Florida would not show it. I do not find Adam creepy at all. I can remember in the 80s and 90s we did not use words like 'creepy ' and 'stalker ' we were stupid and paranoid. I did not hear the word stalker until the 2000s. Adam reminds me of myself especially when I was in my teens and 20s. Especially since he exhibits some traits of High Functioning Autism ( Aspergers) of which I happen to be.

@DavidEmerling79 9 ай бұрын

There is an episode of 30 Rock where Jenna (the narcissistic blonde) is wondering why the guy who usually stalks her has stopped stalking her so, she seeks him out to ask him why he's not stalking her any longer. He tells her "I'm just not into you anymore." That's not a good enough explanation for her. She wants to know, specifically, *why* he's not into her any longer. She is persistent in getting an answer and the guy wants nothing to do with her. She is still not satisfied. She becomes the stalker! The bottom line is that Jenna was flattered that somebody thought enough of her to stalk her. Of course, this was all supposed to be comedy. But, perhaps, there was a part of Caroline who was also flattered. After all, it's not like Adam was stalking her, waiting for an opportunity to rape her. It's pretty clear that Adam has very little concept of what a sexual relationship even looks like. This is evident when he puts his hand on Caroline's breast while she's preparing to cut his hair. That's when she realizes he does not understand how physical relationships work. She grabs him by the hand and leads him off to the bedroom.

@JayStar-yj9pu 4 ай бұрын

Untamed/Wrestler cont., three details to consider: 1) the evolution of each film's romantic pair. 2) the male lead cutting themselves on the job. 3) the male lead's life choices surrounding their heart ailment

@ItsV0v0 3 ай бұрын

This is one of my few favourite movies.

@juligriffin2608 5 ай бұрын

It’s a movie, and you’re 3 decades out. Things were a lit different early 90’s; the entire culture was different, and judging from your words, I don’t think you were there (at the right time, at least) to get it. You can’t interpret this from today’s perspective, because so many things are different. The things you keep harping on as not making sense, or being “creepy”, etc don’t matter. I’d wager to guess you wouldn’t appreciate Edward Scissorhands, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Chasing Amy, and a bunch of other great movies from the same time period, as well as foreign and independent film from any time. Sad for you. Art is timeless.

@rkroyston5599 Ай бұрын

It wasn’t about him being a “real man” it was about those clean cut “real men” being the typical a$$ wipes girls date and Adam being the awkward, seemingly creepy but actually just really kind and loving and unaware of boundaries. He was “weird” and sometimes we attack weirdness with creepiness but one doesn’t have to be the other. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. The guys who were “normal” ended up being the creeps. I always thought he was in the spectrum. Though not addressed specifically in the movie he was kind of just slow but smart at the same time. So many people who get labeled “creepy” are like this, socially slow, mentally sharp. I love this movie. Love the characters, the soundtrack, the actors and the what it was filmed.

@JayStar-yj9pu Ай бұрын

I TOTALLY dig your summation of the creeps that most women/girls lean towards which is grossly overlooked in this particular storyline. Caroline clearly had a history of wrong guys, wrong places, such as the basement party where her two attackers originally knew her from. Why didn't she immediately recognize them, alcohol consumption as usual. They obviously had an idea that she was a party girl who'd give in to their whims. Bottom line, her attackers first encountered her in A BASEMENT. Her love interest quietly observed her asleep UPSTAIRS and alone. Welcome to the greatest Psy Op in America today... Hollywood movies. Abstract Inversion (A.I.) is real.

@JayStar-yj9pu Ай бұрын

BTW, I'm a longtime Mpls resident who only lives a few miles from 'Riverplace' (Caroline's attack site) and Central Avenue where Jim's coffee shop WAS located. I always found it amusing how our Minnesota North Stars made a Stanley Cup finals appearance, then were spotlighted in two films (this and Mighty Ducks) THEN were moved away to Dallas just prior to the Mall of America arrival all within a few years...🤔🤔

@JayStar-yj9pu 4 ай бұрын

Jeez, guess what movie was also released in 1993...TRUE ROMANCE. Considering what I've learned about Dumb and Dumber & Pulp Fiction (both from '94), maybe it's time for me to bust out another movie match

@JayStar-yj9pu 4 ай бұрын

You should watch the garbage Amy Heckerling fed my Gen with Fast Times at Ridgemont High in the 80s (statutory rape/drugs/abortion), then see how she rearranged those narratives for 90s kids with Clueless.

@JayStar-yj9pu Ай бұрын

I've spoken frequently elsewhere about the constant generalizations of either gender within stories like this while those critical will completely ignore the basic nature of these characters. 'Adam' is not schooled on social graces which in 2024 are even less abundant from a culture that spends 80% of their days staring at screens. He was raised super sheltered and in many ways has an innocently romantic ideal about his love interest. It's a silly fairy tale film so if any women out there see this and complain then they should have a lot to say about a so-called PRINCE who makes out with a girl while she's unconscious. Just sayin'

@JayStar-yj9pu 4 ай бұрын

Tell ya what, I'm well-versed in the psychological game filmmakers play so I'm gonna offer this tip: watch Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei in 'The Wrestler'. Compare THAT film's conclusion with the ending of this movie. See what u discover...

@JayStar-yj9pu 4 ай бұрын

OMG, talk about Culture shifts... I'm not a viewer/fan of SpongeBob simply because I outgrew cartoons when I discovered females at age 13. But I just turned on my set to see an episode depicting (within) seconds, a ONE-EYED character flying above who SPLATTERS Bob and his boss with...TARTAR SAUCE. No wonder so many adults watched this stuff. Too bad alot of kids did as well. Helps to explain Gen Z and their hypersexual nature's. Poor kids stood almost NO CHANCE to enjoy a healthy childhood

@rkroyston5599 Ай бұрын

My kids still ask me why I don’t let them watch it 😂 yeah solid no from me.

@JayStar-yj9pu Ай бұрын

@@rkroyston5599 my friend, considering the blurred lines from Nickelodeon and Disney content, to animated films and Adult Swim material...there is almost nothing that remains of what I once considered "family friendly". I have no kids but I'm still puzzled as to how so many adults can gripe about dangers within our society while completely ignoring what their children partake of daily

@jocelynastheart2732 5 ай бұрын

The disgusting smoking in this movie was gross! and Rosie perez was a terrible friend to caroline! I thought she was so annoying and it is a bit pathetic the way christian looks at marisa at first it looked like He was demented a bit! how the heck did he get into her room to put up that xmas tree! LOL!

@editionsofyou 5 ай бұрын

It’s so weird to think there were cigarette vending machines once! I’m glad there’s way less smoking today. There’s no way he got that tree in her room without waking the whole house up, haha.