Hearts in Bondage: A bit dusty, but worth a look

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school dramas that don't need a massive budget to make a point, you might dig this. It’s got that specific 1930s earnestness where people actually talk to each other instead of just trading witty one-liners. However, if you need fast pacing or modern camera tricks, skip it. You will probably find it slow as molasses.

The whole thing hinges on the friendship between Kenneth and Raymond. It’s the kind of bond that feels heavy before the war even starts. You can see it in how they hold their heads—sort of stiff, but affectionate.

The Civil War stuff

Once the war hits, the movie loses a bit of its focus, but that’s kind of the point, right? Everything gets chaotic. There is a scene where they realize they are on different sides, and nobody says anything profound. They just look tired. I really appreciated that.

It’s nowhere near the scope of something like The Spoilers, but it tries to keep things intimate. It’s a bit like watching Sorrell and Son in terms of how much it cares about the personal cost of duty.

Small things I noticed

• The uniforms look like they’ve seen some actual dust.
• There is a background actor who seems to forget he’s supposed to be sad during a funeral scene. He looks more like he's thinking about lunch.
• The dialogue is stiff. Like, really stiff. But it fits.
• The lighting in the interior shots is moody in a way you don't see anymore.

I caught myself thinking about how much easier it was to make a war movie when you didn't have to worry about CGI tanks blowing up every five minutes. It’s just people. Just faces. That matters.

Sometimes the film feels like it’s struggling to stay on the rails. It wanders a bit in the middle. You can tell the script went through a few too many hands, but the core—the heartbreak—stays intact.

It reminded me a little bit of the mood in The Good Bad Man, where the setting is just a backdrop for a guy trying to do the right thing when the world is acting crazy. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a honest little slice of cinema. 🎥