Sunday, March 21, 2010

Henry Fool - 1997 - 4 Stars

Actors: Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak
Director: Hal Hartley

More films should be like Henry Fool, but Henry Fool itself is a giant, glorious mess. Concerning a garbageman steered towards writing poetry and the titular ex-con who's doing the steering, Henry Fool asks questions about art's purpose, its effect on those who experience it, and the unfortunate consequences of artistic success.

There's a great film trapped inside this movie - unfortunately Henry Fool veers into self-indulgence with its 137 minute length. However, the film manages to create an interesting little world - this film could have been even looser and longer. It also has the candor to not believe its own bullshit - while it's easy for me to say this film could've been done better, it also could have been done far worse.

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