Review of Henry Fool (1998) by Kay K — 05 Jan 2008
I just saw an indie film of a few years back, the late nineties I think, called Henry Fool. I watched the whole darn thing; it is nearly two and a half hours long. The whole time I was thinking this is so dumb, but you know, it's got something, no it doesnt, it is the most pretentious and stupid piece of crap, but no I am starting to like it, it is fascinating really, what am I crazy? That sort of thing from start to finish.
I guess all things considered, I like it. It is an odd sort of thing, very literary in a way. Henry Fool is this wanna be Great Writer, working on what he calls his Confessions. These are handwritten volumes; he has been working on them for years, but doubts the world will ever be able to appreciate them.
When his book is published, he is sure, a hole will be blown in reality, and poor reality will never recover. He has horrible greasy long hair, five oclock shadow, wears a three piece suit at all times, but it is the kind of suit someone would buy at Goodwill, and one has the impression he often sleeps in it.
He wears tennis shoes, very old and worn down and dirty tennis shoes. He meets a garbage man; the poor fellow is so down trodden and odd and shy and repressed that many people in his neighborhood think he is mentally retarded.
The whole thing takes place in some godforsaken area of NYC. It is all about genius and pretention and poetry and the shit of life. It is a ridiculous and awful movie, and yet there is something original and compelling about it, so I recommend it to brave souls looking for something different.
This review of Henry Fool (1998) was written by Kay K on 05 Jan 2008.
Henry Fool has generally received positive reviews.
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