Amateur (1995)

HAL'S NO AMATEUR1

THIS FILM IS QUIRKY GREAT!!!!
ONE OF MR.HARTLEY'S BEST!!!!
ISABELLE & MARTIN... WHAT A GREAT PAIR! July 9, 2007

I really wanted to like this more...

The subject matter alone drew me to this movie. Not knowing the history of the director, Hal Hartley, but knowing of his followers, I decided to check it out. In the end, I was a little disappointed. I'll talk more of this later.
The story evolves around a nun who leaves the convent because she believes that she is a nymphomaniac. But yet, she's never had sex. She decides to start writing pornographic stories for a nudie magazine to vent her sexual frustration. Soon, she meets an injured man who has amnesia. Little does the nun know, but this man has ties to the porn industry. She has a spiritual revelation and decides to help this man find out who he is. This leads them both into trouble with hired assassins and crazed accountants. A wild story indeed.
The problem I had with the film was the acting. It seemed as if the characters were just performing their lines and waiting for the director to yell, "CUT". Some scenes would get you deeply interested with the bizarre characters and strange situations. Then, the acting would just blow it.
All in all, it's not a bad film. It tries hard to be like a "Blue Velvet" era David Lynch, but falls terribly short with the lack of any visual flair. I would recommend seeing the film, but watch a friend's copy before you decide to buy. March 8, 2007

The Hartley Factor

Typically, Hartley's films are not for everyone (some might argue they're not for anyone). Still, if you've got the patience, you familiarize yourself with the style of writing, pacing and acting, you'll be rewarded. Or you could just be like me and instantly devour everything Hartley writes, shoots and films with an insatiable appetite. Whatever works for you.

This film, albeit about a ex-nun-cum-pornographer, may possess the most mainstream "feel" of any Hartley film I can think of. A first rate cast has been assembled and, without giving away anything, the story has a genuine feel of propelling itself forward in "pseudo-Hollywood" style. But it ain't Hollywood.

Living screen legend Isabelle Huppert stars as Isabelle, the fallen nun writing porno stories to pay for her humble existence while waiting reluctantly (and half awake) for some sort of sign of divine inspiration. Along for the ride is a young Euro porn star, a man suffering from amnesia who wakes up all bloodied up in an alley, a young corporate pirate on the run from the Russian mob for some missing computer discs, a young punk hip chickster played by Parker Posey with everything coming to life and death proportions in a convent in the country. You have to see for yourself.

If this sounds up your alley, you will be rewarded with a surprisingly moving film that will have you scratching your head throughout. Beautifully acted, shot with Hal at the helm.

Not quite on the level of Hartley's "Henry Fool" - but few films are.

p. April 13, 2005

Who is "this man?"

"Do you know this man?" During the opening scene of AMATEUR "this man" finds himself sprawled out on a cobblestone road outside an apartment building in New York. After recovering, he'll find that his fall from a second floor window has deprived him of his memory, and in an amnesiac haze he'll stumble into a diner where a self-professed nymphomaniac ex-nun (who is still a virgin 15 years removed from the convent) and wanna-be writer of smut, will adopt him as part of what she believes to be a mission from God - her calling. The more she finds out about "this man's" unseemly past the deeper she finds herself immersed in a web of blackmail and violence, with a former porn actress and three accountants, two of which are assassins. Is "this man" the sum of all the facts that we have gleaned from others? Is "this man" really the vicious monster that his ex-wife and former business associate claim? Is "this man" the same man since he has lost his memory? Does anyone really know anyone? In AMATEUR every character is running away - unsuccessfully - from their identities and desperately trying to reinvent themselves and escape from a past that continues to haunt them. An original, quirky film that is difficult to categorize - black comedy? Suspense thriller? January 28, 2005

Best Hartley Ever

This is my favorite Hal Hartley film, several of the scenes do not fail to bring a tear to my eye or give me a feeling of frisson and I saw it for the first time in 1995. I think that should say it all.

Purist Hartley fans seem to believe that Trust is the quintessential Hartley, and while I agree that the film is great, Amateur has a much more complicated plot and explores more complicated issues.

The film is all about ontology. What is the nature of being? Can one change? What is memory? Is there an essential nature to existence or is existence mutable depending on experience?

Don't think, however, this is some weird indie/foreign flick heavy on the meaning. Hartley manages to pose all of the above questions within a film that is quirky and funny and deadpan and sad and wonderful all at the same time.

Yes, I know this man. April 23, 2004

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