Based on the novel by Marco Franzoso, HUNGRY HEARTS is a chilling, 2014 thriller set in New York City. It is Mina and Jude’s story, a young couple who meet under rather peculiar circumstances. It is a must see. Jude (Adam Driver) is handsome, well educated, thoughtful, with a sense of humour and a tender heart. He epitomizes the modern day gentleman. Reminiscent of Cary Grant in North By North-West but without the accent, Jude is soon caught up in a series of events that he has little control over that will result in tragic consequences.

When Adam Driver entered the Venice Press Conference following the film’s premiere, he was given a rare ovation. The critics’ questions were directed to the actors almost as though they were expecting them to answer in character, they were so convincing in their roles. The director Saverio Costanzo defended the movie’s ending, reminding the audience that this was a piece of fiction. It could be based on truth.

Mina, played by Alba Rohrwacher, seems rather fragile and less confident in herself than Jude. The two quickly become a couple, spending time in his New York City apartment and then Mina discovers she is pregnant. Driver, passionately in love proposes. A clever sequence of scenes shows the wedding; a fun, intimate affair, the highlight is when Jude sings a love song to Mina. Mina has no family but we meet Jude’s mother (Roberta Maxwell), a very likeable person, who will figure prominently in the story. A strange incident occurs at the end of the wedding day leaving Mina shaken. She begins to have a nightmare. Jude tries to lighten up the event but Mina doesn’t seem as though she is letting it go.They really don’t know each other and this will have serious consequences which begin to creep into the story, building a heightening level of tension until the very last frames of the movie.

Mina is a bit mysterious; she has an unusual, ethereal quality that later becomes sinister. As the story unfolds Mina unravels as she isolates herself. She seeks a fortune teller’s advice and believes she is having an Indigo Baby. Her distrust of the medical profession, the world and even Jude strengthens. Her strange obsessions become full blown after the birth. Jude is shut out as Mina goes into a state of fanatic possessiveness. They start deceiving and distrusting each other. Mina appears physically and mentally unstable. Their world starts to implode as Jude struggles to cope with his wife and save his baby.

Adam Driver, well known for his role in the HBO TV series Girls, starred in Tracks, Inside Llewyn Davis, What If (2013) and Frances Ha (2012). He is gaining a remarkable breadth in his performances that really comes through with this exceptional performance in Hungry Hearts.

Moira Romano