Heaven

I must be on a Cate Blanchett kick lately. Two of my most recent reviews (Babel" and Hot Fuzz") involved movies in which Blanchett had a starring role. Similarly, Heaven was another excellent movie. Cate Blanchett was superb in this movie, creating strong emotion almost effortlessly. She delivered a moving performance.

Heaven starts out in a Helicopter flight simulator creating (for me) thoughts of terrorists trying to learn to fly a plane. Knowing that this movie was a suspense film involving a bombing, the movie started moving me in a particular direction. Following the initial sequence the credits begin, and we watch as Cate Blanchett's character (Phillipa) assembles a bomb which she secrets in a tote bag. Phillipa places the bomb in a waste basket at an office building intending to kill a particular person. We watch helplessly as the cleaning lady empties the basket into her cart and enters an occupied elevator. The camera stays focused on the closed doors for a moment of increased suspense followed by a door bending explosion and vague remnants of debris beyond the doors. The beginning is suspenseful and sets the stage for an interesting story to unfold. The one thing I never put together was the opening sequence. There is another helicopter late in the movie, but I never really understood the beginning.

Phillipa is quickly arrested and begins the Judicial process. This movie is sub-titled. I was not aware of the setting (because I do not speak or understand Italian) until I recognized the uniforms and mention of the Carabinieri (Italian Police). The uniforms weren't exact, but the exploding bomb emblem on the hats looked pretty close. The Police question Phillipa who requests an interpreter, Fillipo. Fillipo (played by Giovanni Ribisi) falls in love with Phillipa and plots her escape. There are sub-plots that keep you guessing where this well planned scheme will end.

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