V.C. Andrews' Fallen Hearts - Film Review

After seeing both prequels of the Casteel Family saga, I was interested to see how Fallen Hearts would be portrayed visually and was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the production and storytelling - this is the strongest Casteel adaptation thus far. In comparison to the book, Heaven (Basso) now has the life she had always wanted, but her past continues to haunt her as both families collide in a dramatic conclusion

The vision behind Jason Priestley’s directing was strong with great cinematography, definitely the most cinematic and Scarlett Lacey’s screenplay adaptation kept to the emotional truth of the novel. Although I had misgivings about combining events from the second book Dark Angel into this film, Lacey pulled this off in a way that allowed the story to develop without feeling rushed and the characters felt authentic throughout the narrative.

Annalise Basso and Jessica Clement were fantastic in this film, especially in how they portrayed the complexity of Heaven and Fanny’s relationship as sisters - both were flawed and both had valid points, which made the conflict between them in the book all the more compelling and I’m glad the film captured this dynamic.

Heaven’s entangled love triangle was portrayed well in terms of screenwriting and I personally thought the relationship between Logan and Heaven was more grounded, but Basso and Jason Cermak still had the strongest chemistry. That’s not to say James Rittinger’s portrayal hasn’t been good - I thought he did very well in this film as there was more morally grey aspects to his role, but that spark wasn’t there between the characters of Heaven and Logan. It sometimes came off as a marriage of convenience, which may have been intentional. The family dynamic definitely had the strongest elements to them throughout this film.

The returning cast were all good as before, but I was especially impressed with Kelly Rutherford and Priestley’s reprisals of Jillian and Tony Tatterton - there was something more natural and realistic about their performances in this one, it didn’t feel overdone or campy when it could have been given how extreme, vulnerable and dark both characters become. However, although I preferred his directing, Priestley still lacked that intimidating presence as his character and his line delivery still felt forced at times.

There was one aspect I was confused by and that was the inclusion of Grandfather Tobey Casteel - even though he had not been seen or mentioned in the previous films and I assumed his character was dead in the film narrative. If there was a scene to explain his absence and how he was living with Heaven, I think I would have been more accepting of his sudden appearance. His inclusion at such a late stage came across as lazy and plot convenient rather than adding to the story. These films did really lack the bond Heaven shared with her grandparents - who were more of parents to the Casteel kids than the biological parents.

I mentioned in my previous review that I was missing the revenge aspect in the prequel; but this film does that aspect of the story justice - moreover how revenge and either finding, accepting or rejecting forgiveness has varying effects on different people. And similar to my review of the novel, Fallen Hearts gives a concluding ending that would suffice as the finale of the series. It’s definitely ends on a strong note for this current cast and crew and gives a great connection leading into Gates of Paradise. This was by far my favourite in regards to Heaven’s film narrative - I only wish that the two prequels were more consistent.