The Good Heart 2010

**In a gripping tale of redemption and unlikely friendship, we meet Jacques, a hot-tempered bartender portrayed by Brian Cox, who faces a life-altering moment when he suffers a heart attack. Within the walls of the hospital, he encounters Lucas, played by Paul Dano, a young homeless man who has just survived a suicide attempt. Despite their vastly different lives, an intense bond forms between them as they share a hospital room. Jacques becomes obsessed with the idea of helping Lucas, even going so far as to dig into his medical records in search of answers.

Initially reluctant, Lucas finally capitulates and pays a visit to Jacques’s bar, where he is offered a sparsely furnished room to stay. Jacques takes it upon himself to train Lucas in the intricacies of bartending; however, he finds that Lucas struggles to shake off his innate kindness towards the bar’s often abrasive patrons. Despite his harsh methods, Jacques aims to mold Lucas into his successor, believing he needs to toughen up.

As Lucas welcomes April, portrayed by Isild Le Besco, into his room, Jacques advises him to send her away. Yet, love blossoms between Lucas and April, leading them to marry and eventually leave together. This decision unnerves Jacques, but he reluctantly accepts that for the future of his bar, Lucas must be encouraged to flourish.

However, simmering jealousy arises within Lucas regarding April’s interactions with the bar’s clientele, leading to a breakup fraught with tension. As time passes, an unexpected transformation occurs; Jacques softens while Lucas grows harder. Tragedy strikes when Lucas is struck by a car, resulting in his untimely death. In a cruel twist of fate, Jacques receives Lucas’s heart as a transplant—something he had been desperately waiting for.

Despite his previous insistence on never selling his bar, Jacques finds himself making the decision to sell it and move to a tropical paradise, where he can savor life with friends who supply him with coffee. This narrative explores themes of friendship, loss, and the profound impact that one life can have on another.**