“Heavy” follows a man as he cleans up a murder.
You’re going to need some serious patience for this one. Writer-director Max Rothman takes a bold approach in “Heavy” — one that is bound to cause virtually every viewer to contemplate why they pressed play in its opening moments. And that actually seems to be his goal: to make something so slow that you want to turn it off, but also something so different that you need to see how it ends.
Unfortunately, most people probably won’t make it far enough to have that sentiment. Establishing the environment is important in movies, but Rothman pushes that to the extremes. Nearly the first minute is taken up by a black screen. The next 10 minutes are then spent looking at grassy terrain with trees looming in the background. The camera slowly pans left. It then transitions to another shot where it slowly pans right. It then transitions to another shot where it slowly pans left. It then transitions to another shot where it slowly pans right. My repetitive verbiage is intentional, mimicking the monotonous nature of the film. But on this last pan right, you see a road. And then a house. And then a man entering said house. Around the 18-minute mark, the premise finally kicks into gear, or at least shows signs of an actual narrative at hand.
That doesn’t mean the approach changes, though. Throughout the entirety of “Heavy,” shots linger far longer than they should. So much so that the film could probably function just as well at 80 minutes rather than its final 110-minute form. While this is a part of Rothman’s style, it does come at a cost. And that cost is any ounce of enjoyment. There are only so many times that the audience can be expected to sit through extended shots where nothing happens. Here, it occurs over and over again. Viewers can use all of this extra time to ponder: who did he kill? What’s his motive? There are a plethora of questions that can be asked, but there aren’t really any easy answers given.
From here, “Heavy” follows the “man” in the aftermath of a murder. That synopsis sounds riveting, but it’s not as high-stakes as it may seem. It’s not a character screaming in frustration or rushing to flee the scene, but instead someone who is calm and collected. He drives the speed limit. He casually walks into a store. He showers. He acts like everything is “normal.” Everything about the film challenges what you would expect someone to do after committing a murder, which makes it gripping in a way despite being so tiring.
Because of its minimalistic approach, the technical aspects of “Heavy” are important. Director of photography Angelos Rompolis keeps the camerawork simple with mounted static shots or ultra-slow pans. Some of these are environment shots. Some are from behind the man. Some are in front of him. Some are right next to him. Some are zoomed in so close that you can see the fibers of his shirt. From this, Rothman and Rompolis emphasize the normalcy and everyday movement of the world around the “man” despite the heinous act he committed. The sound design plays a role in this as well. This is a quiet movie, but you still hear noises of heavy breathing, footsteps or passing cars.
It’s also important to note that there is no spoken dialogue. Michael Ridley (Man) delivers a physical performance with blank stares and unhurried movements. Because he never speaks, there’s a general sense of emptiness to his character.
“Heavy” represents a truly uncompromised vision. You get to see the world as a man cleans up a murder — every painstaking second of it. Rothman doesn’t aim for traditional entertainment, delivering a film that is meant to push viewers toward their breaking point.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
