Movie Review: Torn Hearts (2022)

Synopsis: A pair of up-and-coming country singers, Jordan and Leigh, hope to take their career to the next level by convincing their idol, Harper Dutch, one half of a popular sister dual from the 1990s, to perform a song with them. Harper seems interested but her erratic behavior concerns Jordan, especially when she finds evidence pointing toward Harper being a murderer.

Who's in it? The movie stars Katey Sagal, Abby Quinn, Alexxis Lemire, Joshua Leonard and Shiloh Fernandez.

Review: I added this movie to our streaming library a few days ago and, mostly because my wife and I love Katey Sagal, decided to watch it last night. I wasn't really sure if it would be worth our time but it ended up being a halfway decent thriller.

I think the thing I liked most about this film was the way Sagal played Harper Dutch. While it was somewhat obvious she was emotionally disturbed, her outbursts were sporadic enough to make her somewhat scary, but not to the point where I couldn't understand why two wannabe superstars would want to stick it out.

The way she manipulated both Jordan (Quinn) and Leigh (Lemire) was brilliant, making sure to target the women's weak spots so they couldn't trust each other. Her motive wasn't immediately clear either. It was hard to tell if she was doing what she did because she didn't like the women or if, in her own twisted mind, she was trying to do them a favor. Both arguments made sense.

As the movie progressed, it was clear the women weren't as good of friends as they thought they were and one was even using the other for her own purposes. This made the movie a lot less predictable than expected because, in addition to needing to worry about Harper, it was possible they would turn to violence against each other as well.

The film's ending was also unexpected. I'm still a bit torn on whether I liked it or not, but it ultimately reflected the movie's overall message of just how cutthroat the music business could be. I'll just say it didn't ruin the movie and I didn't hate it.

Final Opinion: It takes a little too long to get to the actual action but I thought this was an intriguing psychological thriller that exceeded my expectations. I'd recommend it as a result.

My Grade: A-