Too much of everything

People are voting emotionally.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

I got a free TV guide with Saturday's tabloid newspaper and it described HEAVEN as " A gambling addict contests custody of his son with his estranged wife , little knowing that she and his psychologist are having an affair " which has got to be the most misleading synopsis ever written . I know I often criticise the info button on my remote control but this has got to be the most misleading plot summary ever written . Okay this plot thread happens in the movie but it's totally unnecessary and the movie would have benefited if it had been excluded at first draft since it comes to a literal dead end What HEAVEN is , is a violent compelling thriller with supernatural overtones . I don't really want to give too much away but it's a bit like THE DEAD ZONE meets THE CRYING GAME , rather strange , superbly directed and far far more thought provoking and touching than I was expecting .I should also mention the cast who do a good job , there might be a slight criticism in casting so many Brits , Americans and Aussies in the one movie making the location a little too cosmopolitan but hey it's an electic cast so we can overlook that . Oh and if you're wondering where you've seen " The Sweeper " he's the Rohan horseman from LORD OF THE RINGS and the psychologist creep used to be Chisholm from MINDER If you like indie films I can certainly recommend it . If you like down beat movies I recommend it , and if you dislike the pop corn garbage that Hollywood has been producing for the last few years then boy do I recommend HEAVEN . Bare in mind however it's a thriller - not something the TV guide mentioned

Based on a myriad of very positive comments here, as well as my experience watching the director's previous film _The Ugly_ and enjoying it, I rented _Heaven_. What an awful film! Don't believe the hype. There's a very good reason this bypassed theaters and went straight to video. It's an ugly, mean-spirited, depressing film, with characters that it is hard to understand and like. The acting is good--it's amazing to see Richard Schiff, so likeable on _The West Wing_, playing such a sleaze. Martin Donovan is good, as are Joanna Going and Patrick Malahide. Too bad the story doesn't have more going for it. And what's with the son of Donovan/Going's characters? Both of them have obvious American accents, but the kid talks like he just got off the plane from Australia or New Zealand (the latter, I guess). Other than chopping things up and presenting them out of order, so that what we think is going to happen isn't necessarily what does happen, this film really has very little going for it. _Memento_ it is NOT! Here's hoping that Scott Reynold's next film, _When Strangers Appear_ is an improvement.

"Heaven" is a misanthropic noirish drama which conjures up a witches brew including a trans-whatever as the title character, a down and out architect as the "hero", a masochistic strip club owner, a couple of thugs, an unlikely bouncer called "Sweeper", an evil "shrink", a beautiful but slutty ex-wife to be, etc. in an ordinary story with an annoying herky-jerky flow and a clairvoyant element to pump up its trite plot. An unfortunate attempt at film making with little going for it, this flick seems to get off on its own grime and grit at the expense of giving us a reason to care about our hero who's caught up amidst a myriad of malefactors. An annoying mess of a movie which should appeal most to those into sensationalistic junk flicks.

this is a very confusing mishmash of a film, with very disagreable people in it. the actor who played the night club owner almost made me turn the film off. martin donavan who is a fine actor did not convince me, in the slightest. the music & cinematography was good & Danny Edwards as Heaven was excellent most of the others were either hateful or annoying my rating is only ** as alwaysjay harris