Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Majorthebys Charming and brutal

Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Joel_Goodsen Clever Indy film-making at it's best!!! This film jump started a genre. Hal Hartley's masterpiece brims with clever dialogue and funny performances. Adrianne Shelley is a standout as Audrey who is convinced that the world is soon to blow up. Chris Cooke should be getting a lot more work after his winning performance as Vic Hugo. He's a delight to watch as his daughter Audrey bargains with him on about going to college. And Robert Burke is great as the quiet Josh, the returning man with a past. You catch something new every time with this film ... like the funny way everyone fights in the movie (elaborate pushing matches). An original film and thoroughly enjoyable. Great soundtrack too ... under Hal Hartley's alias of Ned Rifle. Highly recommended ... and definitely more than worth than 50¢ at your video rental and won't put you to sleep if you like original, clever, landmark Indy films like this one is.

MattPage Dude, thats the point.Hartley throws every movie cliché in the book at this one and tips his hat to numerous other films in the process. I've only seen one other of his films (Book of Life) but you can see how he went down the formalism / "exploring the limits of the medium" route in more sophisticated ways.My favourite bit was when he's telling the sad story and his friend is playing all the usual cheesy soundtrack notes as he goes along. Very funnyGet a load of friends round and have a good laugh. Matt Page

escoles This was one of the most deeply awful movies I can recall ever seeing. It mixed high-dramaturgy with low production values and a sense of deep self-seriousness that makes it difficult for me to understand why people found it amusing. Poor acting, bad dialog, awkward blocking...where do I stop?And yet, I suppose that a few beers and some good friends could transform it into a bonding experience....

Arcana13 Not Hartley's best, though I still rate it a ten. Hartley began his odd spin on movie dialogue with this (not quite) debut film. Adrienne Shelley is beautiful and perfectly cast--it's very difficult to tell if she is a brilliant actress or merely brilliantly directed. Martin Donovan (for him it's not difficult to tell--he's brilliant) is understated, yes, everyone says that, and mysterious. The B Movie backup cast leaves something to be desired, but somehow that helps propel this odd little gem. Only David Mamet has the same level of idiosyncratic brilliance in scripting dialogue which, while not particularly true to life, is refreshingly new and always entertaining. Hartley revels in repetition and the use of the pause. People don't talk like this, but then again, they do, just not in films. 'Henry Fool' and 'Book of Life' are his best, but this early work is indispensable.