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[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heartisdeceitfulaboveallthings_9477.jpg]]

What can we say about ''The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things''? Well, [[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody Cole and Dylan Sprouse]] play Jeremiah, a boy who is taken from his foster parents to live with his drug-addicted, prostitute mother Sarah and along the way has sex with Music/MarilynManson, gets raped and molested several times, and at one point becomes a [[ArsonMurderAndJayWalking Christian]]! A very [[{{Squick}} squicky]] film to say the least.

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!!Tropes seen:
* AbusiveParents: Sarah, although she would have won a mother of the year award compared to the book.
** Sarah's parents were also abusive to her.
* AnAesop: Some foster parents are more caring than biological ones.
* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: The film is based on an autobiographical novel by teenaged author JT [=LeRoy=]. Except that [=LeRoy=] turned out to be thirtysomething female Laura Albert.
* TheCameo:
** Creator/WinonaRyder plays an extremely incompetent child psychiatrist.
** Peter Fonda plays Jeremiah's [[TheFundamentalist Christian fundamentalist]] grandfather.
%%* DepartmentOfChildDisservices
%%* DiabolusExMachina: Nothing ever seems to go right.
%%* DirectedByCastMember: Asia Argento.
* DraggedIntoDrag: PlayedForDrama when Sarah forces Jeremiah to cross-dress so he can be her "little sister".
%%* {{Jerkass}}: Every single character apart from Jeremiah and Buddy.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Comes from the Literature/BookOfJeremiah 17:9 (KJV):
-->"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
* MoodWhiplash: Sarah. One minute she loves Jeremiah, the next she hates him.
* NightmareSequence: Several, usually featuring [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic massive, clawing red birds]].
* TeenPregnancy: It's implied that Jeremiah was born when Sarah was 16/17. She confirms that she's 23 at the beginning of the film while picking Jeremiah up.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour: Jeremiah drinks alcohol at multiple points in the movie and even tries to seduce one of Sarah's boyfriends.
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