Meanwhile

I have a very hard time sympathizing with men that wear fedoras.

A bit slow going at first...I so wanted the poor schmuck to just get it together. But then, a little bit of magic happened: the scene with the writer in the bar. I love Hal Hartley most when he does simple conversations about life, and D. J. Mendel and Stephen Ellis do a great scene together. Why does Joseph refuse to take money for fixing things when he so clearly needs it? Is he afraid that it will somehow define him personally or professionally if he does? He certainly resists defining...

perfect double bill with ferrara's 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH

Everyman stays busy / makes self useful while hoping for things to finally come together. Dramatizes and dwells on the mundane that most of us are looking to escape when we watch a film. Aggressively innocuous except when it's not; you wait for the other shoe to drop, and it never does, really?... The curious tone peculiar to this filmmaker is especially pungent here and the self-mythologizing is an eye roller even to this avowed fan.

Decidedly minor Hartley, but it probably works better than his last few films precisely for that reason. It's a self-conscious return to his earlier, simpler style (no canted angles!) and it feels like an appropriate reflection of an auteur past his golden period and now well into middle age. It's all a bit slight but some bits are actually brilliant and the whole thing radiates Hartley-ness so what more can i ask for?

One hour long and kind of noncommital, but interesting throughout.

Very much in the vein of his 90s work, Hartley follows a middle-aged man searching for his place in the world. He takes no money for services rendered--is that kindness or a desire to avoid being defined by whatever that work is? He still wants to believe himself an artist, even if it's clear his prospects are severely limited. But there is an endearing quality to the lead, a kind of get-up-and-go that won't be dissuaded no matter what knocks him down.

Really loved the main character and the film overall. He's sort of like the main character in Trust at mid-life--with all the rage burned out, and finding peace. He's kinder, gentler and still likable. (I liked the Trust character quite a bit as well.)