Synopsis
We're not so different.
Luke, an independent young man with Down's syndrome stumbles upon a wild and life changing friendship.
My Feral Heart
Cast
Steven Brandon Shana Swash Will Rastal Pixie Le Knot Eileen Pollock Suzanna Hamilton Keith Chanter Darren Kent Jill Keen Kerryann White Sarah Ioannou Keith Austin Lewis Nicolas Joe Gooch Rachael Cox Edward Wilkinson Andrew St Clair James Oliver Tabor Vijay Wara Stephen Pepperdine Christian Taylor Jennifer Gardiner
Director
Producers
Writer
Casting
Editor
Cinematography
Assistant Director
Executive Producers
Gary Phillips Mark Vennis Kirsty Bell Lewis Nicolas Gareth Stanley Gavin Thain Kirk Wells Roger Bassett David Honey Rachael Ross Ken Ross
Lighting
Camera Operators
Production Design
Art Direction
Composer
Sound
Costume Design
Makeup
Hairstyling
Genre
Releases by Date
Premiere
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USANR
Theatrical
03 May 2016
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UK12
Releases by Country
UK
03 May 2016
- Theatrical12
USA
05 Mar 2016
- PremiereNR
Popular reviews
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Luke is an independent you man with Downs Syndrome who cares for his ailing, elderly mother, Joan. When Joan suddenly dies, Luke finds himself placed in care, a daunting environment that is a world away from the self sufficiency he has previously enjoyed. Determined to claw back some of his freedom, Luke makes allies with the chirpy carer Eve, and Pete, a troubled local young man performing community service within the care home's grounds. Venturing outside one day, Luke stumbles across a desperate young girl in need and finds an outlet once again for his kindly caring nature and big heart.
A fiercely independent British feature armed with good intentions and wearing its (feral) heart on its sleeve, My Feral…
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Affecting story of Luke, a young man with Down Syndrome (Steven Brandon), who is put into a home for people with special needs after the death of his mother, for whom he was the sole carer. When it focuses on Luke's burgeoning friendship with a young female worker at the home (Shana Swash) and a troubled fox hunt saboteur (Will Rastall), it is extremely successful and these elements were begging to be fleshed out more. Unfortunately it introduces a feral mute girl, reawakening Luke's caring temperament. This strand felt shoehorned into the narrative and ultimately weakens the film considerably.
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Canny, went back and watched the last 20 mins when I woke up.
I don’t blame the movie for me falling asleep, it was sad but lovely.
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With today being National Down’s Syndrome Awareness day, My Feral Heart seems like apt viewing. The heart of the film is the performance of Steven Brandon, a man with Down’s Syndrome who is caring for his sick mother. When she dies he is forced into an assisted living care home for adults with learning difficulties, stripping away his independence and self-sufficiency completely. His performance feels complete genuine and authentic, credit to him and his director Jane Gull. His relationships with first his mother, then the carer at his home, as well as the local posh lad doing community service, are all sweet and touching. Where the film trips up for me is the subplot…
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Some nice character work going on but there's a little too much crammed in for such a short film and the whole feral thing is pretty daft.
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A somewhat downbeat indi drama centered around a man with Down's Syndrome who is put into a care home following his mother's death. I think the film opens a lot of windows in the sense that it's attempting to explore wider themes such as how much government interference can be a hindrance to someone's life but never really fleshes them out as much as it could.
That being said, it's still massively heart warming- mostly helped by a terrific performance from Steven Brandon. -
A perfectly serviceable drama with good performances, but could have benefitted from a bit more focus. Ultimately the 'feral' animal element didn't add anything of value for me, and indeed it distracted from the more interesting (and better executed) themes of independence, disability and finding purpose.
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Jane Gull’s drama in which a young man with Down’s syndrome is forced to move into a care home after the death of his mother. Starring Stephen Brandon and Shana Swash.
The story concerns Luke (Stephen Brandon), a young man with Down’s syndrome and flagships his independence, who is left with no choice but to go into a care home following the demise of his mother.
There he bars in contradiction of the restrictions levied on him, but his preventions are dispelled by his budding bonds with his care worker Eve (Shana Swash) and an enigmatic feral girl (Pixie Le Knot).
Stephen Brandon gives a good performance in his role as Luke, the man who has Down’s syndrome and is…
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This is a really sweet, touching film. Its a character based drama and I'd dare you not to feel sorry for and even proud of Luke (the main character). I felt I could understand his frustration and sense of isolation, in his newfound situation. The acting is good, it seems pretty genuine and I like that it's somewhat understated. I like that while its perhaps partly sentimental, its certainly not overly soppy. It feels real.
I would definitely recommend this film, yes.
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Mixes well with a ferociously compassionate mind. I love it. I love what this film represents as well as how it approaches the presentation - there's no room for mucking about with the narrative structure as it's layered out just like most great films, where less is in fact more. Simplicity is essentially exploited here, but it works so damn well, with every short-lived exchange delivering a smile, each transitional montage providing some mental comfort and all of the dramatic turns gripping thoroughly without losing the value of being earned. Again, simplicity works in favour of crafting greatness, as there aren't too many plot threads... but instead just enough to intertwine into a poignant collection of heartfelt twists and turns. This is much more than just a snippet of life, it's a miracle of life that speaks volumes without cranking anything up... the strengths lie in the humble approach, and the effect comes through thanks to the heart.
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Very moving, poignant film about a man with Down's syndrome trying to regather his life after a tragedy. I haven't seen many films where the lead actor is disabled, and Steven Brandon does an absolutely extraordinary job here as 'Luke'. He absolutely nails the part.
Think of the work of Lynne Ramsay, Andrea Arnold, Clio Barnard and you may get the picture. It does a really fine job of tapping into the psyche of Luke and takes the viewer to some interesting metaphorical places. It also touches on the healing process, grief, guilt etc. There's also a very credible performance by Shana Swash as 'Eve', who takes care of Luke and provides a semi 'love interest' role. Susanne Salavati's cinematography…
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