This is a poignant, often painful story of a brother and a sister whose rapport is real and lovingly abrasive. It’s a movie for everyone who has ever been part of a family. Milo (Bill Hader) is a Gay man waiting tables in Los Angeles. His sister, Maggie (Kristen Wiig), is married and living in New York. They haven’t spoken in ten years. Today, they’ll demonstrate they have something in common; they’ll each attempt to commit suicide. And it will bring them together to find that, despite what they pretend to have, all they really have is each other. Everyone is depressed in his or her own way, swapping confidences, sharing sadnesses, avoiding the real issues. A day in the dental office, an afternoon in the den, and a night in Halloween costumes open doors to yesterday. And while there are so many scenes that are brutal in their sense of honesty, “Heart to Heart” is more than a brilliant piece of lip-sync, it’s really how brothers and sisters connect.
This is a movie of heartfelt humor and searing tenderness made with straightforward direction and played with a sense of bravery and love. As a storyteller, director Johnson knows how to peel back the layers of depression without becoming depressing; he knows when and how — and for how long — to let humor emerge while keeping drama in control. The cast is small but they each play above their weight. They make each other’s performance more honest. Hader and Wiig go outside their comfort zone and trample the boundaries of expectation to give tender, truthful performances Wiig, especially, will break your heart. This is a movie about those who have their secrets and those who have their reasons…and those who can’t make it all better but they can make it more bearable.
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 