In HEEL, a 20-something ne'er-do-well named Tommy (Ansel Boon) spends his night engaging in total debauchery. Any ingestable pill, powder or liquid is taken. In equal measure, every possible form of fluid is publically expunged from his body. Bouncers are sucker-punched. Women are seduced with inebriated charm. No form of property is safe.

Tommy is a fucking shithead. And at the end of the night, he's kidnapped.

He wakes up in a dingy basement, chained to the wall by a collar around his neck. A schlubby 40-something named Chris (Stephen Graham) greets him, announcing his intent to reform Tommy into a productive member of society. His team is a family affair: reclusive wife Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough) & sensitive son Jonathan (Kit Ratuksen). As you can expect, Tommy doesn't take too well to this.

I'd expect more grime and nastiness with this kind of bad-dude-gets-kidnapped flick but HEEL immediately takes a sharp left turn. What starts as Tommy's attempt to slyly feign trust from the family evolves into mutual understanding and respect. This focus on relationships and Tommy's moral growth leads me to eventually question: Was all of this for the greater good? The chloroform, the elaborate railing system allowing Tommy to explore the home while still chained?

When compared to our current prison system, is this approach a better shake? As is often with Jan Komasa's films (SUICIDE ROOM, CORPUS CHRISTI), the answers aren't so clear and it makes for cinema that lingers in my mind after the credits.

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