Sweetheart

Sweetheart marks Kiersey Clemons as a star on the rise

JD Dillard's Sweetheart, currently streaming on Netflix, is a combination of Robinson Crusoe and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Dillard has decided not to foreground the film's themes, a wise move for a somewhat simpleminded genre flick. The currents of racism and class consciousness emerge only after the protagonist in peril has gained our rooting interest by battling a fearsome monster. Dillard and his compatriots have chosen an opposite tack to that of Robert Zemeckis in Castaway. In that film, Tom Hanks offered a running commentary to his only companion, a volleyball he dubbed Wilson. In Sweetheart, Kiersey Clemons utters nary a word for half the movie. Her skill as a performer and Dillard's unfussy professionalism make this as an engaging B horror outing.

I was reminded of what James Agee said, more or less, to Stanley Kubrick after viewing Fear and Desire, a first feature Kubrick later admitted was pretentious and inept. The film "had too many good things in it to be called arty" was Agee's reassurance to the young tyro. I feel the same way about Sweetheart. Hopefully, more will be seen from Ms, Clemons and Mr. Dillard.