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Heaven Knows What

CrimeDrama

A heroin addict living on the streets of New York City, a young woman tries but fails to break free from her addiction and her abusive boyfriend. Between chemical highs and violent outbursts, she searches for beauty in unexpected places.

Year

2015

Duration

1h 37m

IMDb

6.8

Hero Poster

Cast

Arielle Holmes

Harley

Caleb Landry Jones

Ilya

Buddy Duress

Mike

Cast

Arielle Holmes

Harley

Caleb Landry Jones

Ilya

Buddy Duress

Mike

Necro

Skully

IA

Isaac Adams

Isaac

DS

Diana Singh

Diana

BH

Benjamin Hampton

Antoine

MA

Manny Aguila

Evan

Eleonore Hendricks

Erica

YP

Yuri Pleskun

Tommy, Drug Dealer

MN

Maynard Nicholl

Maynard

BH

Brian Hodges

Brian

MM

Misty Mccall

Misty

MP

Mike Patellis

Marcos, Mike's Supplier

AK

Aaron Keller

Hasidic Man

ER

Eric Ross

Street Fiend

RL

Rik Letendre

Highway Driver

RJ

Russell James Peters

Cave Jimmy

Trailer

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Comments

10 Comments

Nino Brown B PlusJun 14, 2025

I guess I'm writing this review after seeing the one and only other review. This film is actually really very good, and for what its showing: perfect. Time is different for some people. Those with heroin in their lives don't live as we do. For them time doesn't really exist. There is a flow and it is somewhat linear though quantum leaps here and there are possible at anytime. There is always need. The opening is a dream. One of Harley's perfect moments in 'time' smashed by a realisation. She has to kill herself for the man she loves? Combine this with Heroins ebb and flow and it becomes even more intense. Love unrequited but really Ilya loves Harley too... right? What will you do for love? Anything. What will you do for Heroin? Almost anything? The film flows through days and night though really we are just allowed to view their lives for a short train ride. The end is Malick in style - life just keeps on flowing. I read up a little on Arielle Holmes (Harley) - she has lived the lifestyle, and some parts of the film are based on her adventures! It's very realistic. Just watch it all, let it flow. Oh also, the use of modular synths and sound instead of voice (in parts) is very effective, the latter trying something new and it worked.

Ahmed ElshaafiMay 29, 2023

source: Heaven Knows What

waiiwaii.pNov 22, 2022

An early Safdie Brothers (Benny & Josh) film from 2014. Following on the heels of Larry Clarke's seminal 1995 film Kids, we follow the ups & mostly downs of a drug addict (played by Arielle Holmes whose novel this film is adapted from) as she tries to cop drugs, panhandle & find some sort of balance w/the love of her life, played by Caleb Landry Jones (Banshee from X-Men: First Class). After her man dares her to slash her wrists (which she does after we assume she promised to but never really sealed the deal) she gets bandaged up in a hospital & instead of taking that opportunity to clean up her act she just dumps herself back on the street where she hooks up w/a user/dealer & they spend time together where they do whatever they can to get themselves fixed up but once Jones comes back into the picture (at one point he throws a homemade ninja star at Holmes' new guy injuring him & in a later episode Holmes comes to his rescue when he nearly OD's in a public restroom). Not for the faint of heart or for those who may've been open minded about drug use or whatever when they were younger but seeing this documentary styled voyage into listlessness (many of the actors are shot from a distance giving the film an authentic feel to the proceedings) but as an exercise in filmmaking it can be equal parts exciting & depressing.

Altaf SugatNov 22, 2022

Lol, I was scrolling around on netflix, my friend lent me his code for a spell, and I thought, this seems interesting, pray don't ask why for I do not know... but after finishing it, I realized it was very very interesting and fun and entertaining. I learnt a lot about drugs and street-survival out in the concrete jungle. What amazes me, is how tenuous this drug habit is, how expensive, how difficult to mantain and function whilst on it, how incredibly invalid one becomes under its indiscriminating, insensible, very conspicuous claws, for the paradox is, one who is on the streets needs to be spry and savvy at all times yet this drug which is very expenive and can kill you, brings you under a terrific spell for quite a while, a spell in which one is wadding as if in a bog mug or heavy fog perhaps, its awful, I don't see how this drug fits into the runaway out on the streets lifestyle , its so difficult to understand. But one thing I do understand is this film showed me in ways that were fun, and interesting and very very very entertaining, there was a really neat artsy scene where a boy throws a phone up into the sky and it looks like it goes out past our stratosphere and explodes like a fireworks, very very cool, shows how creative these people are who worked on this, I would encourage anyone who wants to do something fun and artsy to watch this , it lends to reaching deeper into our creative side and just letting go... but in this film, I would say, especially if you are young and healthy and have your whole life ahead of you, "let go and let god!" I can understand doing this to yourself if you don't have a choice, if you are bonded to torture and death but if you are free , life can be wonderful , one day at a time! Thank you , I love you...

VISHAHK OFFICIALNov 22, 2022

This film is a remarkably harrowing character study. Most of the time, the plot takes a back seat- it doesn't go much further than Harley trying to get money or drugs- but the plot is not the thing that drives this story; what drives the story is the tumultuous, destructive chemistry between characters. This film gives us a passenger car filled with characters to care about, and all of them are barreling blindly towards an inevitable train wreck, and honestly, it's impossible to look away. Arielle Holmes does an amazing job portraying Harley, which makes sense considering the character is based on her life experiences. As she wanders through the streets, bleary-eyed and dejected, continuously making decisions that will sink her further into her habit and further into trouble, we can't help but feel sorry for her. She inspires so much sympathy, but at the same time so much frustration. She is a beautifully broken schismatic character searching for redemption, and this film is an incredible odyssey to experience. For our full review of "Heaven Knows What".

souhail ghazzaliNov 22, 2022

I began this movie in a state of repulsion: the characters live a stunted, grotesque life on the streets of New York. We are forced to bear witness to their pathetic lives, squabbles and desperate lust for drugs. However, I was struck by how strongly I felt about it. I realised the performances were raw, and without artifice, and brilliant. And I was being forced to consider a group of people I would usually shy away from, and reject without a moment's thought in real life. Characters come and go in a dreamy timeless stream of events. They are like wayward children: showing concern for each other's wellbeing one moment and scream obscenities at each other the next. They loudly proclaim tales of valour and adventure, eager for attention. Mike, ironically, lists the lethal dangers of driving on the back of a motorcycle as Harley rides around with a stranger. Ilya wanders up to Harley while she's listlessly having sex with someone in the gutter. Harley is vaguely entertained by a man doing tricks on a motorcycle. Ilya harasses Harley days after encouraging her to slash her wrists. They are dirty, mean, angry, violent, overly dramatic, desperate and lost. Arielle Holmes bring a fresh earnestness to the role of Harley. She is full of contradictions: vulnerable and hard, caring and disloyal, hopeless and hopeful. You can't help but look for signs of life, and potential in her eyes. Harley hints that Ilya was the reason she became a junkie. Her world revolves around her infatuation with Ilya, and her mind-numbing obsession with heroin. "Don't you want to be your own person?" Mike asks her. No. She is a shell of a person. There appears to be no hope of redemption for Harley. If you're a fan of great true-to-life story-telling and like a good art house flick, this is an excellent choice. The simplicity of these people belies a powerful story.

rehan2255Nov 22, 2022

If you are interested in the life of heroin addicts, Heaven Knows What should be for you. Brother directors, Ben and Joshua Safdie, discovered the film's star, Arielle Holmes, a heroin addict, panhandling on the streets and encouraged her to write her life's story down on paper. Holmes along with screen writing partner, Ronald Bronstein, wrote the script and Holmes stars as Harley, the film's protagonist. Bronstein has a supporting role as Skully who urges Harley to break up with her boyfriend Ilya, after Harley slits her wrists at Ilya's behest (he declares that he has no interest in dating her anymore). Shot in documentary style, the plot is rather lugubrious and has an unrelenting texture. In other words, this ain't easy to watch! We follow Harley after she shacks up with Mike, another addict and they spend time attempting to obtain money to support their habits (the usual means include of course panhandling, shoplifting and stealing). Mike gets into a fight with Ilya in Central Park and Ilya stabs him with a makeshift weapon but soon afterward Harley tells Mike that she's still crazy about Ilya. After Harley saves Ilya from an overdose, they decide to take a bus to Florida but Ilya abandons her on the way down and ends up consumed by a fire inside a vacant house. Nothing very much dramatic occurs at the denouement: Harley returns to NYC and watches Mike inside a fast food restaurant, as he boasts to his friends. There's not much more to tell here. The Safdies have done well here in bringing us Holmes' gritty narrative. But after a while, the actions of the principals mimic one another to the point where we're kind of happy it's all over. Holmes must be commended for overcoming her heroin addiction and now trying to break into the movie industry (probably harder to do than overcoming a heroin addiction!). For her next role, I'd like to see Holmes take a role that doesn't involve drugs. Then we'll see if she can really act instead of just playing herself!

سفيان Soufiane lNov 22, 2022

Just saw this on Netflix, and I thought it was extremely well done, but it just didn't seem like most of the things that happened in the film could have taken place in the Manhattan of today. Too much of it took place right in the open, and I don't see how that could go on in the Police/Tourist State Manhattan has become, as the result of 24 years of the dictatorships of Giuliani and Bloomberg. A film like Panic In Needle Park was done before the gentrification of Manhattan, so its Manhattan setting was quite believable, but the author of the 'book' this was based on, Ms. Holmes, said in an interview that most of the incidents this was based on were taken from her life in Bayonne, NJ. The brothers that made this flick met Ms. Holmes on the subway while she was doing some type of apprenticeship in the Diamond District. I suppose that Ms. Holmes decided to set, "Mad Love in NYC" in NYC, because who would care about a book called "Mad Love in Bayonne"? I had just seen "My Beautiful Broken Brain", and it seems to be a trend of having beautiful women who have gone through bad ordeals, starring in films about said ordeals. If both of these movies were about unattractive women, I doubt they would have had any marketability, hence probably wouldn't be made, but hey, it worked in my case; I wouldn't have watched either movie if their stars weren't so gorgeous!

🤴🏼Hamza Asrar🤴🏼Nov 22, 2022

Although it follows the lives of a group of young, homeless heroin addicts in New York, this deeply unsettling film is far removed from the typical Hollywood "junkie flick." I have known people like the characters it depicts, and I was immediately struck by the film's raw authenticity. Only later did I learn that the directors hit on the idea for the film after befriending (becoming infatuated with?) Arielle Holmes, the lead actor who was then living on the streets; they encouraged her to write about her experiences, paying her by the page, and eventually convinced her to star along with her friends in a film adaptation of her writing. Despite what has been charitably described as a "nano budget," "Heaven Knows What" is extremely well made. The score creates a sense of unease, and every shot in the film is expertly framed.

Jaime ConjoNov 22, 2022

The story in itself is very disturbing. I had to say these actors did a sensational job. I felt like I was there living on the streets with them. They were extremely convincing.