Heel

Tommy (Anson Boon, Danny Boyle's Johnny Rotten in 'Pistol') cares about nothing in life but partying and doing drugs, going so far as to have sex with another woman right out on the street in front of his girlfriend (Savannah Steyn, "Crawl"). But when he wanders off in a drunken stupor, he is abducted from a London street, awakening to find himself chained like a dog in a basement, whose owner, Chris (Stephen Graham, "The Irishman," TV's 'Adolescence') appears kindly enough, but expects Tommy to "Heel."

Laura's Review: B-

Writers Bartek Bartosik and Naqqash Khalid posit a thorny moral issue - if denying a man his freedom produces undeniably favorable results does the end justify the means? Director Jan Komasa ("Corpus Christi") achieves squirmy black humor with a film that appears to condone the unthinkable even as it condemns it, a modern take on "A Clockwork Orange."

After framing Tommy as an irredeemable lout, we'll see a young woman arrive at a gated rural house, drop her cigarette and proceed down the unusually long drive to be welcomed by Chris, who wands the woman in his foyer before asking a series of questions, Rina (Monika Frajczyk, "Green Border") answering no when asked if she smokes. We can tell by her accent that she's a foreigner and by her demeanor that she's probably hiding from something. There is an awkward introduction to his wife, Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough), who passes through an adjoining room like a wraith without saying a word, then a house tour that ends in the basement, Rina shocked by what Chris has hidden there. But like Tommy, Rina is apparently in no position to object, and so quietly begins a job cleaning house three days a week.

We first learn that Tommy may be a replacement for someone they are mourning when Chris and Kathyrn's young son Jonathan (Kit Rakusen) asks his dad if it is OK for him to read Charlie's comics, something the ever smiling Chris agrees to if he doesn't tell his mom. Meanwhile, Chris is trying to get the aggressive and aggressively foul-mouthed Tommy to eat, when he isn't being force fed religious anti-drug videos and footage of his own awful exploits. After riding Rina until she cries, then being utterly foul to Kathryn, he apologizes to both women, but his sincerity is questionable until Kathryn appears to get through to him with kindness, giving him eyeglasses after having noticed him squinting through a family movie night. When she shows him a video of him and his mates bullying a young boy on his phone, tears well up in Tommy's eyes. Tommy begins to read and is gradually given more freedom, even attempting a heroic act when Rina's traffickers arrive to take her back, but when an opportunity to escape presents itself, he takes it.

"Heel" holds our interest with its bizarre premise, but the film can be muddled in its viewpoint. Graham is overly chipper until he goes all disciplinarian, something which befalls not only Tommy with shocking violence, but his equally cheerful son when Jonathan is caught lying. On the other side of the spectrum is Riseborough, who breaks through grief to connect with Tommy, the actress oozing compassion. She and Boon deliver the film's most layered performances, Boon traversing from thug to straight living savior without ever conceding that the treatment that enabled it was anything but outrageous. Frajczyk gains our sympathy only to be made a sacrificial plot point.

The filmmakers wrap with an unexpected twist which works in the moment until one reflects that Tommy has embraced the captive tactics he decried. Does love really mean never having to say you're sorry? "Heel" is an intriguing, often funny, film that may leave you feeling troubled.

Robin's Review: B+

Tommy (Anson Boon) is a 19-year old ne’er-do-well who feels no remorse for his crimes or the people he harms. Chris (Stephen Graham) selects the bad boy to be reformed of his evil ways. He kidnaps and chains the naughty teen in the basement of an isolated estate to change his ways and make him “Heel.”

The UK title for the film by Jan Komasa is “Good Boy” but that is also the name for an American horror film release a few months ago (that I highly recommend, especially for dog lovers). That said, the original title would have worked as well here.

The first thought you have about Tommy is that he is a selfish and cruel a**hole and Anson Boon does a great job in making the viewer not like him. Then he finds himself chained to the wall on a mattress in a basement. He meets Chris who tells him to be a good boy. Tommy tries to attack the man but the chain attached to the collar around his neck stops him.

Slowly, we learn about Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough), Chris’s housebound wife, their son Jonathan (Kit Rakusen), and a coerced housekeeper named Rina (Monika Frajczyk). There is also frequent mention of “Charlie.” But, the story focuses on Tommy, his “rehabilitation” and his metamorphosis as a human being, which is well worth the price of admission.

Acting is first rate across the board with Stephen Graham proving himself to be a true chameleon of an actor. He gives every role I have seen him in a unique character spin and is often memorable, like in “The Irishman” as a Bronx gangster. Andrea Riseborogh gives a character arc that starts off quietly, without much expression, but becomes more animated and involved as the story plays out.

The revelation here, though, is Anson Boon as Tommy. And, talk about character arc. He is so convincing as the violent teen criminal and bully that you side with Chris in putting the errant youth through the rehab that will bring him to his senses. It is fun to watch the young man go through his changes in ways he would never expect.

The only problem with the story is Rina. She is a Macedonian refugee in the country illegally. Chris takes advantage of her status and threatens to turn her in – unless she cleans up after Tommy and keep her mouth shut. Her story, though, seems tacked on only to tie up loose story ends and feels odd.

But, the main story is terrific tale of behavior modification, like in “A Clockwork Orange (1971),” but on a personal, rather than institutional, scale. This makes Chris’s methods and treatments an interesting study of that modification – though many would call it torture and I am inclined to agree.

Magnolia Pictures releases "Heel" in theaters and on VOD on 3/6/26.