‘Heel’: A Deceptively Kind Stephen Graham Kidnaps a Wayward Son in Surreal Dark Comedy

Alci Rengifo

The times are truly surreal, which is probably why so many filmmakers are channeling social commentary through a twisted lens. “Heel” is the latest film in this vein. The subject in Polish director Jan Komasa’s domestic odyssey is what to do about violent, aimless young men who don’t seem to respond to society’s normal ways of reform. Can applying actual tough love do the trick? Komasa’s solution is hilariously extreme and quirky, resulting in one of those seductively strange fables where on the surface it could be a regular domestic drama. There just isn’t anything regular about having someone chained in your basement to fix their attitude. 

Set in England, the story first starts with Tommy (Anson Boon), a 19-year-old who is a virtual cyclone of bad behavior. Hard drinking, hard drugs, sex, vandalizing public property, you name it. The lad parties quite hard. Then we meet Rina (Monika Frajczyk), a Macedonian immigrant who starts working as the maid in a house owned by Chris (Stephen Graham) and his wife, Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough). They also have a young son, Jonathan (Kit Rakusen). In the basement Rina finds Tommy, now restrained by a metal collar and leash. The couple has kidnapped Tommy in order to basically reeducate him out of his bad habits. If he behaves he can get a treat or be less restricted to the basement. Chris tries to impart lessons by showing Tommy internet videos his bad behavior. As his mood softens, maybe Tommy will be absorbed into the family.

Komasa is a filmmaker fascinated by the perils of youth. His roster of work includes films like “Suicide Room,” about a popular high schooler who spirals into depression and the Oscar-nominated “Corpus Christi,” where a 20-year-old undergoes a spiritual transformation in prison. He also made the historical war film “Warsaw 44,” about young Polish resistance fighters during World War II. “Heel” feels inspired by the work of directors like Yorgos Lanthimos, who give mundane settings a surrealist touch. As in Lanthimos’ “Dogtooth,” the world of “Heel” becomes enclosed. Chris and Kathryn’s house, situated in a rural area with overcast skies and countryside, would feel claustrophobic for a city troublemaker like Tommy even without the collar and leash. At first it is nearly torture when one of the tasks the couple start assigning Tommy is books to read including Jane Austen and Aldous Huxley.  He is made to not only watch videos of his antics but informational tapes on the dangers of drug use. 

The great element that then fuels the rest of the plot’s development is the performance by Stephen Graham. Long known for his masculine roles, Graham achieved a new level of respect with his role as the father of a troubled teen accused of murder in Netflix’s acclaimed “Adolescence.” In “Heel” Graham is a deceptively kind man clearly masking hidden pains, even rages. There is an unspoken tragedy hovering in the home. We get the sense this couple lost someone, most likely a son. Graham is the “softer” parent while Kathryn, fragile on the outside, is capable of coolly applying strict discipline, such as forcing Jonathan to smoke the entire pack of cigarettes he’s caught hiding. Chris can lash out when needed, as when he administers a beating on Tommy for crude behavior. Gradually, the barriers seem to crack and Tommy becomes ever more docile. He finds it in him to be able to flirt with Rina, who is herself entrapped by Chris knowing certain facts about her immigration status. Yet, Chris and Kathryn do care about maintaining a “zero waste” household.

For most of its engrossing running time, “Heel” defies the norms of your average entrapment thriller. It is really a sly dark comedy. Tommy starts enjoying picnics with his new family, despite being knocked out first with chloroform. Chris gives him more freedom by extending the route of his leash around the house, even granting him a room. Eventually, the older man will start asking for romantic tips to get the fire going again in his marriage. There may be a leash around his neck, but maybe it’s worth it for Tommy if it means having a caring, secure home. “Heel” takes the concept of tough love quite literally, pondering if going this extreme might be the answer for people who seem beyond help. In the U.K. the original title of the film is “Good Boy,” which captures so well the idea of Tommy being trained into obedience like a pet. Komasa nearly loses the thread of the plot in the third act, when he must eventually decide what kind of climactic moment will decide Tommy’s fate. He brings it all home strongly with an ending that does not play it safe and only enhances the deeper question at play. It is a twisted world out there and the answers might feel just as off the wall.

“Heel” releases March 6 in theaters nationwide and VOD.