American Heart features Jeff Bridges as a selfish ex-con who is trying to put his life back on track. His plans are given a new twist when his son Nick (Edward Furlong) insists on living with him in Seattle. They settle down in a flop house. While his father works as a window-cleaner, Nick gets involved with a band of street kids who are thieves, pimps, and whores. Director Martin Bell refuses to sweeten this gritty tale about a down-and-out father and son who inch toward a loving relationship.