Review of Henry Fool (1998) by Andrew P — 30 Jun 2010

Hal Hartley's mini-epic about friendship and inspiration, is an impressive more toward a more genuinely dramatic cinema. His stilted dialog and deadpan are still used here, but some of the more surreal and unpredictable elements of his style have been toned down.

I'm not sure if this is some kind of response to "Good Will Hunting" but it does have a similar vibe, but ignore's some of it's sentimental pitfalls. Henry Fool is probably the best entry point for those interested in the "serious cinema".

Personally I still prefer his early brief comedies "Trust" and "Surviving Desire", but appreciation of those does rely heavily on enjoyment of the more experimental aspects of Hartley's style and tone, while "Henry Fool's" strength is it's narrative and classically Romanticist plot (by which I don't mean relationships and love).

The story is of a strange drifter who shows up and encourages an otherwise aimless young man to write poetry and "be true to himself", and the fall out, the life of ideals has on his mundane day to day, life living with his ailing mother and loose sister.

It is bitter-sweet and serio-comic as nearly all of Hartley's work is, but it's also genuinely affecting, inviting, and accessible.