Simple Men

It's like somebody took a piece of classic cinema and emphasized just how ridiculous and surreal every cliché and stereotype really is. Hal Hartley does a masterful job of giving a classic film narrative a fresh perspective with a hilariously sharp, convoluted, wild and gripping screenplay directed in a style that appears reminiscent of the French New Wave. Loaded with unabashedly random monologues, hysterically quotable moments and a beautifully chaotic plot, this film is certainly a classic in its own right.

This is a beautifully made film that has dialogue that literally sparkles and puts 90% of Hollywood scripts to shame though that is admittedly not too difficult. I adore Hartley's use of language and the way he lets the actors perform in front of his camera. The post-drinking scene where they dance to Sonic Youth's Kool Thing is inspired cinema, also the scene where Donovan lists his decent bands 'the old Who'. The best scene is at the end though. I find it incredibly moving each time that this man who has constantly denied his feelings and fought his past is drawn to rest his head gently on the breast of the woman he has grown to love. Though surrounded by police the camera focuses only on his face as we hear the words 'Don't move' off-camera. Why would he move when he has finally found where he belongs? Immaculate framing, marvellous pace and a genuinely affecting story all combine to make this my second favourite Hartley film after 'Amateur' which is untouchable as far as I am concerned.

Like Mr. Hartley's other movies, this film manages to balance humor, romance, drama, emotion, and action. It has a vaguely surreal air to it, wherein the events are plausible, but could only happen on those strange, unsettled days of the year when the sky can't decide whether to rain or not. There is also a bit of camp mixed in.

Also like his other films, Simple Men is quite idealistic, yet without being sappy or 'feel-good' in a cheap or simplistic way. This is a subtle movie, and I found I had to watch it a second and third time before I truly appreciated it. It's hard to compare it to anything else except Hartley's other movies, especially the excellent Henry Fool. I recommend it highly.

There's Hollywood, there's Dogma... and there's Hal Hartley. The absurd storyline of "Simple Men" reminded me of Pedro Almodóvar, it's visual impact made me think of Hitchcock's suburban nightmares like "Shadow of a doubt" or "The trouble with Harry". It's either a deeply philosophical movie which raises many questions (without providing the answers), or some sort of grotesque (Elina Lowensohn's performance!), depending on how you look at it. "Simple men" is one of those movies which leave you with the impression that there was more than met the eye, and maybe there was. Above all, it's an unusual, tranquil and highly entertaining film with very likeable characters.

On first viewing, I could have sworn this was a Sam Shepard play. It has the short lilting dialogue for much of the film and sounds as though it were written for the stage. It is directed very much in that fashion and is a fascinating, captivating set of performances...understated and full of deeper meanings that don't shout at you in the more typical "Hollywood" tradition!