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 Robert Feinberg is some people’s worst nightmare. The 59-year-old was once a 22-year-old with the world at his feet, working on a movie that could have made him the next big director.
But he never finished the movie. And perhaps, he believes, never really fulfilled his destiny.
HBO Documentary Films’ Finishing Heaven follows the director as he tries to finally finish his film Heaven, a very ’70s psychedelic film with no real story line, just a lot of heavy eye shadow and dramatic scenes.
As unique as Feinberg’s tale may seem, however, this film is just another story about another dream that died in the process. There are plenty of people in this world who dreamed of being an astronaut or a film star and instead ended up as a grocery store clerk, a bank teller or (in Feinberg’s case) a cruise greeter.
What makes this HBO doc sing is Feinberg and the colorful characters that orbit his world. The shining star of Heaven and of the documentary is Ruby Lynn Reyner. The thin, red-haired woman was a star on the off-off-Broadway circuit, and was also romantically involved with Feinberg when they shot Heaven. When audiences catch up with her 37 years later, the world has worn her down physically, but she’s still a fireball with her words—funny, sharp and surprisingly profound.
 One of the best moments in the film is its opening scene, where Feinberg and Reyner reunite after 30-plus years. Their conversation is scattered, frantic and full of evidence of a failed romantic relationship. Reyner accuses her ex of running off in Italy and picking up a “14-year-old girl with huge breasts.” Feinberg, of course, doesn’t remember this. They argue about story credit and, mainly, finishing the film.
Truthfully, more time should have been spent on Reyner’s story. Viewers learn that she wants the film finished, and that she loves seeing her younger, stunningly beautiful self on-screen. We also learn that she has a husband who is dying of HIV-induced dementia. We don’t really get an idea of what she’s been doing over the past 37 years, though. Her character is extremely interesting and her scenes are some of the doc’s brightest, so more time with her would have been beneficial to the film.
The feature film debut of New York director Mark Mann, Finishing Heaven is very easy on the eyes. The cinematography, helmed by Maryse Alberti (Crumb, Velvet Goldmine) and Boaz Freund, is beautifully shot, just like Feinberg’s original film Heaven.
The biggest question the documentary raises is why didn’t Feinberg finish his film? Why didn’t he edit it? There seem to be a lot of answers: procrastination, perfectionism and narcissism compete for first place. Reyner says Feinberg was afraid to finish it because if people hated it, it would be as if they were hating him. Also, there’s the pesky fact that everyone working on the film was high on heroin and speed during most of the filming.
 The real question should be if Feinberg is an interesting enough character to hold up this documentary. Sure, he’s funny with his thick-rimmed black glasses, graying mustache and lop-sided smile, and some of the things he says are so ridiculous and random that they’re hilarious. But why should he be the one who made it? His narcissism makes him think he should have been destined for greatness, but why him? Spend any day walking around Los Angeles and you can meet 15 other directors-in-training who claim they will be the next Martin Scorsese.
It’s also extremely frustrating to watch Feinberg. Audiences want so badly for him to finish his film, but instead he flops around without direction like a fish out of water. Heaven has become his own personal hell, which viewers may never fully understand, and therefore we can’t completely sympathize with his plight.
A documentary like this, which is sort of the opposite of the coming-of-age movie (a “coming-to-an-end” movie, maybe), easily raises lots of great dramatic themes to investigate. The fear of failure, failed dreams, broken love, lost youth and regret all bubble up to the surface in this film.
At only 79 minutes, Finishing Heaven is definitely worth your time—flaws and all. We’ve all got dreams that sit unfinished, whether literally on our bookshelves or figuratively in our minds, so tracing one man’s attempt to chase down his dream is always worth the time.
Finishing Heaven premieres Wed., Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. on HBO2.
For more information, visit Finishing Heaven’s official Web page.
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