Thrillers set in exotic locations used to be a subgenre of their own, the likes of which have become rarer these days. Spanish director Fernando Trueba is unfortunately past his prime, or else he could have done justice to the picturesque Mediterranean settings he utilized as the backdrop for his latest romantic thriller, Haunted Heart. Despite the mix and match of these genres being the veteran director’s forte, his newest venture fails to evoke any strong sense of mystery or intimate intrigue. The simplistic style of narrative treatment adopted by the makers could have fared better had the movie been backed by better writing, the lack of which makes the build-up to the final resolution completely fall apart. For what it’s worth, Matt Dilon playing yet another antagonistic role is a delight to watch, and Aida Folch as her opposite lead shows off her acting chops as well—but once again, their efforts don’t find the right direction due to a lackluster script.
Spoilers Ahead
How Does Alex Meet Max?
Alex has travelled all the way from Barcelona to reach an unnamed quaint island in Greece, she is about to join the only establishment on the remote island—a beautiful bayside restaurant—as a hostess, but has arrived a week late after getting stuck in personal affairs. The middle-aged, reserved, taciturn owner of the joint, Max, lets her know that her position has been filled by someone else, but upon learning she has nowhere to go and, at the moment, is completely broke, he fixes her up with the position of server and arranges a place for her to stay as well. The restaurant remains closed during winter; by then, most of the staffers have moved on to a new job, and expecting Alex to do the same, Max asks her to give him a couple of weeks notice before she decides to quit her job.
A lively, chirpy Alex appears to be dedicated to her job despite facing a few hiccups during the initial phase due to a language barrier, and is quick to befriend fellow employee Chico, a charming ladies’ man who is in a fling with Ilya, another staff member at the restaurant. Alex finds herself drawn to Max’s stoic, mysterious demeanor, but gets disheartened after finding him to be irrationally and deliberately avoiding any nonprofessional affiliation with her. Eventually, Max gives in to Alex’s desperate efforts to win him over, and the two get involved in a romantic relationship. Alex is an open book; she lays her past bare to Max—trusting him completely as she shares her trauma involving deep water, stemming from an accident back in childhood. Alex fears getting her heart broken; the man she used to love had betrayed her in the worst way possible, keeping his other life as a husband and father completely secret from Alex, and it had been tough for her to move on from that bad break. She expects complete honesty from Max, who constantly refuses to share anything personal or about his past with her. Like the island itself, he remains secluded and distant from Alex despite acknowledging his feelings for her. Max’s desire to maintain his secrecy should have been a warning sign for Alex, but she was either too naïve or blind in love to consider his traits to be problematic.
Why Did Alex Ask Chico to Look Into Max’s Past?
On one occasion, Alex finds an old picture of Max while cleaning his room and gets shocked seeing him with what seems to be his family. Furious and disheartened, Alex thinks she is getting duped all over again and confronts Max about it—who, eventually, confesses that he too had been trying to move past a bad break he had with his loved one, Christine. Max reveals that the relationship he shared with Christine for a long time after falling in love at a young age had turned toxic at the end. Max eventually left her, but regrets not being able to reconcile with his son, Matthew, who suffered the worst in the separation. Max has left his old life behind and is no longer willing to return to it, and Alex feels sympathetic towards him.
However, in relationships, the monumental secrets don’t make people as suspicious as the pretty little lies do, and Alex becomes wary about Max after learning that he had lied about not knowing how to play clarinet, and that he used to be a musician who went by the name Paul Frye. Now Haunted Heart is set around the year 2001, as a live broadcast of the 9/11 incident is highlighted on one occasion, and Alex couldn’t just access the internet to easily shed light on Max’s murky past even if she wished to do so. She asked Chico to look into the matter, who, despite being quite assured that Max is an upstanding guy, decided to investigate on his own. It should be mentioned that Ilya and Chico’s relationship fell apart after Chico secretly fell for Alex. Max was aware of the fact and was growing quite suspicious of Chico. Initially Alex considered Max’s possessiveness to be a good sign, from a shut-off guy like him, showing a bit of jealousy might come off as caring to Alex, but in reality it was his insecurity raising its ugly head.
Chico was able to confirm that Max had indeed had a past life as a musician and brought Alex the record ‘Haunted Heart,’ composed by Max, which Alex plays to let Max know that she is aware of the secrets he’s kept from her. Alex was a bit disheartened and angry towards Max; she expected clarity from him but realized she barely knew the person she ended up loving and trusting so easily. Max, who was visibly shaken after realizing his past was being brought to light, confronted Alex about the record, and upon learning Chico had delivered it to her, he went on to meet him at his house. Chico is bewildered after Max lashes out at him, fires him from the job, and roughs him up—all because he had discovered something about Max that he had wanted left in the past. The strangest thing happens when, after all this, Max is still able to gaslight Alex about trying to leave his past behind and all that nonsense, and when Chico meets up with Alex for one last time before leaving the island in order to warn her about Max’s intentions, she appears to be quite confident that it was all a big misunderstanding on their part and Max is a genuinely good guy. Before bidding her farewell, Chico confesses his feelings to Alex—which actually makes Alex a bit skeptical about his assumptions regarding Max. In the meantime, Max overhears their conversation and grows increasingly jealous towards Chico.
Why Did Max Kill Chico?
In winter, all the staff leave the island to move on with their lives, leaving Max and Alex as the only living souls taking care of the empty restaurant. Chico had been calling Alex a number of times lately, and given the nature of their final meeting, Alex is uncomfortable continuing their conversation any longer. On one occasion, Max picks up Chico’s call when Alex appears to be absent and learns that Chico has learned something scandalous about Max, which he will share with her after returning to the island. Max surprises Chico by meeting him at the rendezvous point on the given day, and as Chico threatens to expose his secrets, Max ends up killing him. Apparently, musician Paul Frye had been living a life in secrecy as the restaurant owner, Max, to escape the repercussions after killing his former partner, an actress. Chico wanted to warn Alex about the heinous past of the man she’d fallen for, but failed to do so at the end, and Max, who was already jealous enough towards Chico, found a reason to eliminate him once and for all after he threatened to expose his truth to Alex. After killing Chico, Max buries him on the island while leaving his boat at the bay.
What Happened To Alex At The End?
The authorities arrive at the island days later to investigate Chico’s sudden disappearance, given Alex was the last person Chico had called multiple times before going completely off the grid all of a sudden. Alex is shocked to learn about Chico’s predicament and continues to try him on his phone and becomes increasingly disgruntled at Max’s nonchalant attitude regarding the entire situation. Eventually, Alex notices Max’s insecurity and gets the shock of her lifetime after finding Chico buried on the island. The way Alex discovers his body by tracking the sound of his phone’s ringtone from his grave raises so many questions that I will simply ignore any logical concerns regarding it at the moment. Anyway, realizing he can no longer hide his true self from Alex any longer, Max decides to chase her and hold her captive, and to ensure she doesn’t get a chance to escape, he cuts off any chance of communication by cutting the phone line and sabotaging the motorboat. The next day, a desperate, traumatized Alex manages to escape from her confinement by tricking Max but becomes horrified upon learning that seeking help or escaping is an impossible ordeal. In her desperation, Alex tries to swim across the bay, ignoring her mortal fear of deep water. Alex nearly drowns until Max rescues her and brings her back to his place.
Upon gaining her senses, Alex once again starts biding her time to make an escape and steals a knife to protect herself, and as Max struggles to take it off her, he finds himself fatally stabbed. It remains unclear whether Alex accidentally stabbed Max or whether it was his realization that Alex will forever remain frightened and disgusted at him that led him to impale himself on the knife—but in his final moment, there is a sense of remorse on Alex’s face as Max breathes his last in her arms. She might be foolish enough to still think if she hadn’t tried to pry into Max’s past, a lot of things could have been avoided.
In Haunted Heart’s ending, Alex sets the restaurant on fire, which acts both as a sign for help and a symbolic renunciation of the harrowing past, as she waits in the jetty for a rescue party to reach her. Life will not be easy for Alex given the nature of her recent experiences, and she will definitely have a tough time trusting anyone. Also, with two deaths on the island in her presence, Alex might find herself in the crosshairs of the authorities as well—although as Max would have said, that’s a story for another day.
