Henry Fool
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Movie Reviews of Henry Fool
Movie Review: Henry Fool
Summary: 5 Stars
Thismovie is for the intelligent people. Every time we watch it we see something different. I love it!Movie Review: Weird, but in a good way
Summary: 4 Stars
Judging from what I have read about this film on IMDb and here, "Henry Fool" is a film that you will either love or hate with a vengeance. I liked it very much, but I can also see how people could hate it. "Henry Fool" is a story that is light on plot, but is carried by its characters. Simon Grim is a New York garbage collector who lives a miserable existence with his depressed mother and his promiscuous sister (Parker Posey). However, all of that changes when Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan), an ex-convict and aspiring writer, rents a room in Simon's basement and convinces Simon that he should quit his job and focus all of his efforts on writing a poem of epic proportions.
Whether you like this film or not will largely depend on how you feel about the main characters and where your sense of humour lies. This film is classed as a comedy and I found it to be very funny, but the humour is not "conventional" comedy humour. All of the lines are delivered dead-pan and their humour largely lies in their context within the film. Similarly, I loved the characters in this film for their general weirdness (and the fact that Posey and Ryan are both excellent in their roles, especially Ryan, without them this film would have fallen flat), but some other reviewers seem to find these characters to be boring and vulgar.
Overall, if you are used to watching primarily mainstream movies, then I would say that there is a good chance that you will dislike this film, but if you like to see films that are a bit difference, then this film is worth a shot.
Movie Review: Simon, "Get up off your knees:" the artist in a world of dumpsters.
Summary: 4 Stars
Like many things I enjoy most in life, Hal Hartley (1959) is an acquired taste. His artistic and emotional payoff is always worth it. Hartley's characters are known for their deadpan delivery and rich dialogue that is both humorous and philosophical. In a word, Hartley's films are clever. He wrote, directed, and produced my favorite Hartley film, Henry Fool (1997). It stars Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak and Parker Posey. This was the film that established Hartley's cult following. It tells the story of a questionable literary genius, Henry (Ryan), who perceives himself to be more of a Rimbaud than he actually is. He inspires a mousy Queens garbage collector, Simon Grim (Urbaniak), to pursue real literary genius in writing an extended poem Simon calls his "confession." "I'm not retarded," Simon tells his neighbors in defense of his mannerisms. Some consider the controversial poem pornography, while others find it inspiring. The poem promises to "blow a hole right through the world's own idea of itself." Parker Posey plays Simon's loud-mouthed, sexually-twisted sister, Fay Grim, with equal parts humor and pathos. Fay perceives herself more desirable than she actually is. Pathetic at first, she matures into a loving family member over the course of the film. (Posey returns to her role as Fay in Hartley's 2006 sequel, Fay Grim (2006).) Ultimately, Hartley's film examines the role of the artist in a world of dumpsters.
G. Merritt
Movie Review: Hal Hartley's Universe
Summary: 4 Stars
Hartley's 7th film, Henry Fool is a dark comedy that takes place in Queens NY and revolves around the main characters who's personalities seem to fit their names. James Urbaniak plays Simon 'Grim', a timid young garbageman who lives with his depressed mother. Simon's sister, 'Fay Grim', played by Parker Posey and Thomas Jay Ryan as Henry 'Fool', an arrogant confident drifter he encounters who becomes his mentor as both share a similar passion for poetry and writing downs one's thoughts.
For Simon Henry seems to be a good and bad influence at the same time. Henry has some demons in his past that he's trying to escape from to further his career while at the same time inspiring Simon to follow his dreams. It's ironic how the story turns out and despite all the issues these characters have with eachother they are still protective of eachother. This story is really about the complex relationships of the characters and how success can affect someone and what happens when the roles are reversed.
I loved Henry Fool. All the characters were interesting. Henry was great and Parker Posey was amazing. They both had good chemistry with eachother. It was funny, bold, depressing, vulgar and satirical all at the same time. There is a lot going on this movie. It's very long and the ending is a little ambiguous but other than that it's a great indie film with heart and humor.
Movie Review: An intriguing allegory! Well worth the watching.
Summary: 4 Stars
Wow, what a wonderful place this film goes to, and surprisingly so. Make your way through it somehow to the end. It's worth it. It has some tedious situations, and the Henry character is often distasteful, but overall, this film is the kind of great accomplishment that only the independents can achieve. If you consider yourself an artist of any type, and are wrestling with the questions around production and integrity, this film will be worth your while. It ends up pivoting profoundly around some of the great dilemmas of the modern artist, and offers up a few wonderful images, as well. Makes me want to pull down my ruled notebook and get to work. "Where's my fool, ho? I think the world's asleep," said King Lear. A good fool is worth indulging, and maybe even more.