Tommy is a 19-year-old delinquent living a reckless life of drugs, violence and social media "clout-chasing". I actually had to look that up! Apparently, it is "the act of desperately pursuing fame or influence, often by leveraging proximity to famous people or exploiting trending topics". You live and learn! Anyway, after a particularly chaotic night out, Tommy is kidnapped off the street by Chris, a seemingly mild-mannered family man.
He wakes up in Chris’s basement in a remote Yorkshire farmhouse, chained to the ceiling by a dog collar! He slowly discovers the reality of his situation - he has been 'adopted' by Chris and his near-catatonic wife, Kathryn. The family’s goal isn’t to kill him, but rather to rehabilitate him. Chris views Tommy as a 'broken animal' and subjects him to a brutal, theatrical and behavioural 'correction programme'.
Tommy is forced to watch VHS tapes of his own worst behaviour - car accidents he caused, being cruel to people on the street and fights he started - to force him to confront his lack of empathy. If he misbehaves or resists, he is tasered or beaten by Chris. We eventually discover that Kathryn is grieving the loss of their previous son and Tommy has been brought in by Chris to fill that void and help her move past her trauma.
Over time, Tommy begins to "heel" (or even "heal", I suppose). He is granted more freedom in return for good behaviour, eventually being allowed to move through the house via a track system attached to his collar. He begins to form a warped bond with the family’s young son, Jonathan, and the housekeeper, Rina - a Polish girl whom Chris has threatened to expose as an illegal immigrant if she doesn't 'play ball'. Rina’s situation becomes further complicated when it appears a group of hoods is also trying to track her down.
The film poses haunting questions. Can they truly contain Tommy? How long will his rehabilitation take? What risks are they - and he - willing to take to establish trust or exact revenge? And what of the outside world? Is nobody missing him? Is nobody trying to find him? What about his family or his girlfriend? It raises broader questions about whether this twisted process might actually offer him a 'better' life than the hollow one he led in the real world.
Initially, Tommy 'kicks against the pricks' in every possible way, threatening Chris, Kathryn, Jonathan and Rina with violent retribution. However, in time, he becomes a "Good Boy" and follows orders. But is it all an act? Is he hatching a plan behind a mask of fake compliance? This is where the tension lies - navigating this fractured family dynamic - and at times, it is really nail-biting! We don't really know what is going through Tommy’s head until the finale, where all is revealed in a series of surprising outcomes.
It is obviously a very dark film - and while it is slow and plodding at times, the four central performances are excellent, making the pacing feel justified over the near two-hour runtime. Most of the film is shot inside the sprawling farmhouse, with its sound-isolated cellar and an atmosphere that feels perpetually shrouded in darkness. The setting is fantastic - a lovely house in the middle of nowhere that occasionally offers a feast for the eyes with the rolling countryside of Northern England. A joint English/Polish production, Heel is beautifully directed and produced. It is well worth tracking down and is currently available at cinemas.
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