FLAWED FILM HAS AN EARNEST BEAT

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 13, 1993                   TAG: 9302130230
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
FLAWED FILM HAS AN EARNEST BEAT
"Untamed Heart" is an unusual, often clumsy movie about an endearing and believable young woman.
Though the trailers have hinted that there are elements of science fiction or the supernatural in the film, nothing could be further from the truth. This is a simple little love story about realistic characters, a waitress and a busboy.
Caroline (Marisa Tomei) has made a career out of falling for Mr. Wrong. As soon as she gets stuck on a guy, he dumps her. Cindy (Rosie Perez), her friend and fellow waitress at Jim's diner in Minneapolis, can't really help. Caroline's so ripped apart by her most recent rejection that she doesn't notice that the busboy, Adam (Christian Slater), has a huge crush on her.
The introduction explains that Adam is an orphan with some sort of congenital heart problem. To everyone who works at Jim's, he's merely a painfully shy and withdrawn mute. That changes late one night when two obnoxious drunks (Kyle Secor and Willie Garson) follow Caroline as she walks home.
It wouldn't be fair to Tom Sierchio's story to give away much more. There are several surprises. Unfortunately, they're surrounded by long uncomfortable stretches filled with fidgety silences and dialogue that's often cliched. At times, veteran producer-director Tony Bill ("Crazy People," "My Bodyguard") seems unsure about what's going on, and scenes ramble pointlessly to ambiguous points.
Slater's halting, painfully slow approach to his lines may be completely in character, but it's also irritating. Balanced against him, Tomei could not be better. She makes Caroline so fully human and sympathetic that you'll wish the rest of the movie was equal to her. Her performance is worth the price of a ticket by itself.
Despite its glaring flaws, "Untamed Heart" is a serious attempt to tell about real, flesh-and-blood human beings, not the usual flawless romantic caricatures of Hollywood escapism. If only the execution measured up to the intentions.

Untamed Heart: **1/2 An MGM release playing at the Salem Valley 8, Tanglewood. Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, strong language. 100 min.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB