Although it's called "Heartless" (for several key reasons including an especially gruesome one), this compelling psychological horror-thriller contains a tremendous amount of heart. That would be largely thanks to a moving and deeply sensitive lead performance by Jim Sturgess ("Across the Universe," "21") as Jamie, a shy East Londoner disfigured by wine-colored birthmarks and haunted by the decade-old death of his beloved father ( Timothy Spall), who lands on a nightmarish collision course with demonic forces.
Sturgess deftly runs the gamut of physical and emotional states here as he tries to make sense of a world gone somewhat mad. Whether facing off against the satanic "patron saint of random violence" (Joseph Mawle), who lures Jamie into a devil of a deal; blossoming around new love interest Tia (Clémence Poésy); quietly relating to his compassionate mother (Ruth Sheen); or awkwardly bar-hopping with a friendly new neighbor (Noel Clarke), the actor maintains a terrifically watchable presence.
