Heaven Knows What

2015 1h 37m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🍅

89%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 204🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes●75Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 9,824

DramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young heroin addict roams the streets of New York to panhandle and get her next fix, while her unstable boyfriend drifts in and out of her life at random.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Arielle Holmes
Harley
Caleb Landry Jones
Ilya Leontyev
Eléonore Hendricks
Erica
Buddy Duress
Mike
Necro
Skully
Isaac Adams
Isaac
Diana Singh
Diana
Benjamin Hampton
Antoine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Benny Safdie
Writers: Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein
Languages: English
Countries: France, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Benny Safdie, shot by Sean Price Williams. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ariel Pink. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Benny Safdie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Arielle Holmes and Caleb Landry Jones and Eléonore Hendricks carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3687186 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Benny Safdie directs. Sean Price Williams behind the camera. Ariel Pink scores. Benny Safdie cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: France, United States of America.
3Directed by Benny Safdie, shot by Sean Price Williams. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ariel Pink. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Benny Safdie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Arielle Holmes and Caleb Landry Jones and Eléonore Hendricks carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt3687186 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 16 themes, including "drug dealer", "infidelity", "new york city", "suicide".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sean Price Williams
Original score: Ariel Pink
Editing: Benny Safdie
Production design: Audrey Turner
Makeup / hair: Brian Spears
VFX supervisor: Adam Teninbaum
Sound: Evan Mangiamele
Stunt coordinator: Frank Alfano
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $84,417
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Heaven Knows What (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 75/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 9,824 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

5 wins & 12 nominations total

Also by

Benny Safdie

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-11-04
★ 6/10
Homeless and drug addiction, with the backdrop of a little romance. This film reminds me the Al Pacino's 'The Panic in Needle Park'. The independent filmmakers Safdie brothers directed it that inspired by the real life story of Arielle Holmes, who also starred in the lead role. This is definitely a depressing film, seeing those faces, eyes, makes sick. But a very realistic film, kind of aimless plot, till the final quarter and then with a small twist, the tale comes to an end. I have seen it and if you ask me about the story, I say its hard to describe, but it can be only watched like a documentary film. Over ninety minutes, the film revealed the life of homeless people. Like from their day beginning to the nightfall, how they make it and their preferences. So it is not an inspiring film, though at least there's something you can learn about them. After knowing the theme, I thought there would be lots of violence like rapes, stealing, cops and maybe killing. Surprisingly, it was none of those, not exactly, except drug addiction and sometimes stealing to buy drugs. Looks like from this film, the actress got a breakthrough, particularly in her life. I hope its turnover from hereon. I appreciate the directors for that who made a difference in someone's life. Don't think it is a film for entertainment, watch it if you are interested in the documentary film. So it's not for everybody, but some will find it good or maybe decent. 6/10

Production companies