The Heart Specialist

The Heart Specialist is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Dennis Cooper, and starring Wood Harris, Zoe Saldaña, Brian J. White and Mýa. Originally released under the title Ways of the Flesh,^[1] the film premiered at the 2006 Boston Film Festival^[2] and remained unreleased until 2011, when it was granted a limited theatrical release by Freestyle Releasing.

The Heart Specialist
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Dennis Cooper
Written by	Dennis Cooper
Produced by	Dennis Cooper Kristin Overn
Starring	Wood Harris Brian J. White Zoe Saldaña Nephew Tommy Marla Gibbs Jasmine Guy Method Man Jenifer Lewis Leon Mýa Ed Asner Kenneth Choi
Cinematography	Yasu Tanida
Edited by	Jonathan Schwartz
Music by	Tree Adams Christopher Faizi
Distributed by	Freestyle Releasing
Release dates	September 13, 2006 (2006-09-13) (Boston) January 14, 2011 (2011-01-14)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3 million
Box office	$1.1 million

Plot

A modern comedy about the everyday perils of first year medical residents at a shabby south Florida hospital. Wood Harris is the Chief Resident, who teaches the trainees how to save lives and not take themselves too seriously, all the while hiding a chilling secret of his own.

Cast

• Wood Harris as Dr. Sidney Zachary
• Zoe Saldaña as Donna Chaisson
• Brian J. White as Dr. Ray Howard
• Mýa as Valerie
• Scott Paulin as Dr. Graves
• David S. Lee as Dr. Propper
• Kenneth Choi as Mitchell Kwan
• Marla Gibbs as Mrs. Underwood
• Jenifer Lewis as Nurse Jackson
• Method Man as Lorenzo Chaisson
• Leon as Dr. Lee
• Jasmine Guy as Aunt Burnetta
• Terrence J as Jenks
• Ed Asner as Mr. Olson
• Thomas "Nephew Tommy" Miles as Curtis Underwood

Reception

The Heart Specialist ranked premiered nineteenth at the box office grossing $581,516 over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.^[3]