Ned Rifle

A satisfying conclusion to Hartley's trilogy which has gotten better and better. Ned was written as that rare thing - a religious character I can actually care about. But Aubrey Plaza's semi-naked mis-lipsticked femme fatale was the show stealer. With the road trip and gun/bullet plot, Hartley was certainly sailing closer to mainstream American cinema; nevertheless there was some deliciously high-brow dialogue - the kind Lisa Simpson would be proud of. Neat to witness Hartley's evolution.

Dialing it back down after the globe-trotting political thriller from the second part, Ned Rifle is a pretty fitting end to Hartley's trilogy. Aubrey Plaza steals the show and truly belongs; hopefully the beginning of her becoming an indie cinema darling.

Wonderful writing. The dialog really pops. If his body of work is this solid I don't know why I'm not familiar with Hartley.

This sits solidly in the middle of the Henry Fool Trilogy, clearly an attempt to recapture some of the classic Hartley magic (via a cast consisting almost entirely of his familiar players, plus not a canted angle in sight), and mostly succeeding even if this also means more or less reusing the ending of Amateur and sort of ignoring most of what happened in Fay Grim. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Plaza lends the film a freshness not quite seen in a Hartley film since Sarah Polley in No Such Thing.

A great improvement over the convoluted 2nd film. Sadly, not much Parker Posey, but they managed to find a comparable younger lead in the beautiful Aubrey Plaza. My only complaint about her was that she delivered every line with an eyeroll. Urbanek and Ryan's characters are appreciably more subdued. I don't know if I like that Harley left many loose threads or minor references such as the priest affair. Trilogy circled back nicely. Fav scene: Ned meeting Henry in the library worth the buildup.

In many ways, a fitting wrap-up for the trilogy. Unlike the other two, it feels like Hal Hartley movies of 20 years earlier--a good, familiar feeling, and in no way meant to disparage the other two. I want Aubrey Plaza to do more indie-type stuff like this--she's great here. As is the entire cast. James Urbaniak seems to really come into his own here, and Thomas Jay Ryan is his usual god-like.

A fine conclusion to the bizarre Henry Fool trilogy, hewing closer to the "small" story of the first and with a huge chunk of the cast returning again. The humor landed a bit better than in the second, contrasting with the seriousness of all the character's journeys. Really glad I found this set; I'll be exploring other films by Hartley before they disappear from my streaming channel.

The third and final part of Hartley's trilogy is off-beat and pretty funny.

Really really liked some of this. It has a well developed story, plenty of very well done scenes especially later, and the vulgar streak of HF.

I did not hear about this film when it came out. It is another great work in the continuing film series. Liam Aiken and Aubrey Plaza do an excellent job in this film. The rest of the cast is also a joy to watch. Watch this one if you like the other films by Hal Hartley in this series .

Dug it. I really appreciate the way the film resolves (or doesn't, as the case may be). There's a constancy to Ned here that I very much appreciate, even as he spends most of the movie as a walking contradiction. But that contradictory nature is in just about every character, and in this demonstrates the reality of Henry's reflections on sin and freedom. In light of our dilemma, we all need to be sought out, pursued, and drawn out of ourselves.