Harley is a homeless heroin addict in New York City who loves a boy named Ilya, even though he treats her badly and she hurts herself to win him back. The film is based on the real life of Arielle Holmes, who plays her. The Safdies stay close on faces. You feel every moment of need.
Heaven Knows What is a 2015 drama film directed by Josh Safdie. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (1 sound, 1 cinematography, 2 psychology and 1 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Good Time uses several of the same techniques.
Scoring with synthesizers, club beats or electronic instruments. The texture can suggest a period, a mood or a character's inner state.
How this film uses it
The film uses electronic music, including Isao Tomita's synthesizer versions of Debussy. The beautiful, strange sounds float over the dirty streets and make Harley's world feel like a dream and a nightmare at once.
Where to see it
The streets of New York. Harley walks and waits with her friends while the music washes over them.
Holding a close-up on an actor's face long enough to catch tiny changes in expression. You read what the character is thinking from details a wider shot would miss.
How this film uses it
The camera holds on Arielle Holmes's face for long stretches, and you see her hope and fear change moment by moment. The Safdies use these close-ups to make you feel the need that drives her.
Where to see it
The reunion with Ilya. Harley is called to revive him from an overdose, and they get back together.
Showing two people bound together by mutual harm or guilt. They cannot leave and cannot heal, and the bond feeds on its own cruelty.
How this film uses it
Harley and Ilya cannot stay together and cannot stay apart. Each pain they cause the other pulls them closer. The relationship feeds on its own cruelty, and the film does not let it look romantic.
Where to see it
The breakup. Ilya leaves Harley after she is unfaithful, and she tries to win him back by hurting herself.
Casting real people from the community being shown, such as workers and local residents, with no trained actors in those roles. Their looks and behavior feel true in a way acting can't copy.
How this film uses it
Holmes had no acting experience. Josh Safdie met her on the street and she wrote the memoir the film is based on. She plays a version of herself, and the performance has a rawness a trained actor would have to work to copy.
Where to see it
The fight with Mike. Ilya attacks Harley's drug dealer Mike and injures him, with Harley caught in the middle.
Showing a character's fixation or addiction through repeated habits, objects and colors. The compulsion drives the behavior and defines who they are more than any speech could.
How this film uses it
Everything Harley does comes back to two things: Ilya and heroin. The film shows these obsessions by repeating the same habits and places. They shape who she is more than any speech could.
Where to see it
The bus to Miami. Harley and Ilya get on a bus together, and Ilya gets off alone.
Questions
Heaven Knows What: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Heaven Knows What use?
CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Heaven Knows What (2015): Electronic Score, Deliberate Close-Up Performance, Toxic Codependency, Non-Professional Cast Authenticity and Obsession and Compulsion Portrait.
Who directed Heaven Knows What?
Josh Safdie directed Heaven Knows What, released in 2015. CineCode also covers Good Time (2017), Uncut Gems (2019), Marty Supreme (2025).
What films are similar to Heaven Knows What?
Films that share techniques with Heaven Knows What include Good Time (2017), Shame (2011), 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026), City of God (2002).
