Summary
A labyrinthine exploration of paternal guilt and the predatory nature of early 20th-century occultism, The Heart Line charts the psychological disintegration of Oliver Payson, a titan of industry whose life is bifurcated by a singular, catastrophic railroad accident. The narrative catalyst—the death of a business partner and the subsequent adoption of his orphaned progeny—serves as a grim foundation for a twenty-year odyssey of estrangement and remorse. As Payson descends into the twilight of his years, the yearning for his lost ward drives him into the clutches of Madame Spoll, a charlatan medium whose spiritualist machinations mask a sordid reality of artifice. The arrival of Francis Granthorpe, a 'clairvoyant' with a clandestine history, further complicates the familial tapestry when he captures the affections of Payson’s daughter, Clytie. This cinematic tapestry weaves a complex web of identity, the fallibility of memory, and the desperate human predilection for belief in the face of ontological silence.
Synopsis
When the partner of Oliver Payson, a wealthy businessman, is killed in a railroad accident, his young son is placed in Oliver's custody. Payson eventually loses touch with the boy, and now--20 years later--he begins a search for him. Unable to turn up a trace, he finally tries a medium, Madame Spoll, who has a secret she doesn't want anyone to find out--she's a phony. Oliver's daughter Clytie falls in love with a "clairvoyant" named Francis Granthorpe, who has his own secret.
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