In this strange film, Jill Maddox is a middle-aged woman with heart problems. When she is rushed to the hospital after a donor's heart becomes available, she has a transplant. The operation is a success, and Jill has a new lease on life. The balance of the film is an exploration of the circumstances of how Jill becomes estranged from her daughter Amanda.
When Jill receives the new ticker, she is, in effect, getting a used part. In this case, she senses a weird connection with her donor, a young man who lived on the wild side and died in a motorcycle crash. Jill now becomes a biking enthusiast, a pool shark, listens to rap music, and wears mini skirts.
The daughter who was a devoted caretaker to her mom when her heart was failing now is resentful of Jill's new lease on life. A gifted musician, Amanda now abandons her goal studying violin at conservatory. In the film, Amanda appears to be 30 or older, yet she still lives at home and never entertains the notion of moving out and living on her own. Jill participates in a support group with other transplant recipients. But it is Amanda who is in need of therapy due to her co-dependency issues.
When Jill decides to visit the family of the donor in Rhode Island, she is welcomed as a member of the family. Yet once again, Amanda feels slighted and distances herself even farther from her mother. In the most preposterous artistic choice, the filmmakers tried to turn the experience into an uplifting Christmas film at the end!
There was little internal logic in the workings of "Heart of a Stranger." It was never believable that Jill was receiving a psychic message from Matt the donor. A character named Dr. Emil suggested that there was Chinese "chi" energy or the Japanese vibrations of "ti." Concurrently, the filmmakers were straining to make palatable the theme of the mother-daughter bonding in the sentimental ending. But the rift between Jill and Amanda was so great that the Jill's video message, the Christmas tree, and the prospect of Amanda playing violin at Jill's restaurant by the sea were never credible.
When Jill receives the new ticker, she is, in effect, getting a used part. In this case, she senses a weird connection with her donor, a young man who lived on the wild side and died in a motorcycle crash. Jill now becomes a biking enthusiast, a pool shark, listens to rap music, and wears mini skirts.
The daughter who was a devoted caretaker to her mom when her heart was failing now is resentful of Jill's new lease on life. A gifted musician, Amanda now abandons her goal studying violin at conservatory. In the film, Amanda appears to be 30 or older, yet she still lives at home and never entertains the notion of moving out and living on her own. Jill participates in a support group with other transplant recipients. But it is Amanda who is in need of therapy due to her co-dependency issues.
When Jill decides to visit the family of the donor in Rhode Island, she is welcomed as a member of the family. Yet once again, Amanda feels slighted and distances herself even farther from her mother. In the most preposterous artistic choice, the filmmakers tried to turn the experience into an uplifting Christmas film at the end!
There was little internal logic in the workings of "Heart of a Stranger." It was never believable that Jill was receiving a psychic message from Matt the donor. A character named Dr. Emil suggested that there was Chinese "chi" energy or the Japanese vibrations of "ti." Concurrently, the filmmakers were straining to make palatable the theme of the mother-daughter bonding in the sentimental ending. But the rift between Jill and Amanda was so great that the Jill's video message, the Christmas tree, and the prospect of Amanda playing violin at Jill's restaurant by the sea were never credible.