Now, I'm not really a literary person, but I love film and this gem sparkles. For me, an unknown director and two lead actors was given credence by solidly good reviews and when it was shown on Sky Arts, I recorded it. I had heard of - and seen Parker Posey in films before, though.
Henry Fool covers vast areas of literary philosophy and it is itself literary in its sheer story-telling. Ever intriguing, the characters jump off the screen, larger-than-life, yes, but, oh, so honestly displayed, we feel we know these individuals, like they were friends and neighbours.
James Urbaniak, as the gangly, bespectacled refuse collector, Simon, whose social graces are near nil, who we see right at the start stumbling across a fornicating couple, is superb. Via several narrative routes, Simon gets to meet up with roguish, ex-con (sex offender) Faustian, Henry Fool, who is a confident, scruffy novelist (Thomas Jay Ryan). Henry gets Simon to write, in an attempt to get his thoughts and feelings out and to communicate better with the world.
Over the film's two-and-a-quarter hours, we witness Henry messing up his life more and more - getting Simon's sister (Posey) pregnant and drinking into addiction and getting further into debt. Meanwhile, Simon's poetry is cautiously received, initially cited as 'pornographic' but daring and brilliant, culminating in a Nobel Prize. Henry, meanwhile, always on the cusp (but never getting there) of finishing his own great memoirs, being actually rather untalented, falls further apart.
What ensues from Hartley's Cannes-winning screenplay is a detailed, original and very realistic tale of two oddballs and their surrounding loved ones and associates, which never rushes either them, nor us.
The sparse, atmospheric score (also attributed to Hal Hartley - source IMDb) superbly adds to the feel and tone of the film.
This indie flick is probably too oddball and has no star names to draw it from near obscurity into the mainstream. Not only is it immensely enjoyable but involving and engaging, too. I usually delete films from my provider's box, once seen, but this one I want to see again. Fine film.
Henry Fool covers vast areas of literary philosophy and it is itself literary in its sheer story-telling. Ever intriguing, the characters jump off the screen, larger-than-life, yes, but, oh, so honestly displayed, we feel we know these individuals, like they were friends and neighbours.
James Urbaniak, as the gangly, bespectacled refuse collector, Simon, whose social graces are near nil, who we see right at the start stumbling across a fornicating couple, is superb. Via several narrative routes, Simon gets to meet up with roguish, ex-con (sex offender) Faustian, Henry Fool, who is a confident, scruffy novelist (Thomas Jay Ryan). Henry gets Simon to write, in an attempt to get his thoughts and feelings out and to communicate better with the world.
Over the film's two-and-a-quarter hours, we witness Henry messing up his life more and more - getting Simon's sister (Posey) pregnant and drinking into addiction and getting further into debt. Meanwhile, Simon's poetry is cautiously received, initially cited as 'pornographic' but daring and brilliant, culminating in a Nobel Prize. Henry, meanwhile, always on the cusp (but never getting there) of finishing his own great memoirs, being actually rather untalented, falls further apart.
What ensues from Hartley's Cannes-winning screenplay is a detailed, original and very realistic tale of two oddballs and their surrounding loved ones and associates, which never rushes either them, nor us.
The sparse, atmospheric score (also attributed to Hal Hartley - source IMDb) superbly adds to the feel and tone of the film.
This indie flick is probably too oddball and has no star names to draw it from near obscurity into the mainstream. Not only is it immensely enjoyable but involving and engaging, too. I usually delete films from my provider's box, once seen, but this one I want to see again. Fine film.