Farewell to Harry (2002)

This award-winning film is a sweetly nostalgic small town drama in the tradition of The Majestic. Nick (Joe Flanigan) returns to his Pacific Northwest hometown to write a novel. He finds the story of a lifetime when he forms an unexpected friendship with Harry (William Hall, Jr.). A local legend, Harry is the owner of a run-down hat factory, where he passes his days mired in the past and drowning in whiskey. Nick, who works part-time as the projectionist at the town's old fashioned movie palace, is determined to restore the factory, and offers Harry one last, precious chance at redemption .

Feel good nostaligic movie

I enjoyed this movie very much - it was a nostalgic look at the past as well as a unique insight into what happens when an industry becomes obselete. Wonderful performances by Joe Flanigan as wanna be writer Nick and William Hall Jr. as Harry. June 17, 2008

A great movie but......

I am very disapointted with the DVD. For one thing it said on the box "Format: Closed-captioned" yet it did not have CC at all. Also I did not like the fact that the movie was edited so when ever the was a "bad" word there was no sound at all. Why would anyone edit out things in such a wounderful movie like this is beyond me. April 9, 2007

A slight disappointment.

I had hopes for this movie. The plot was simple, a man comes home to be a writer, and meets the interesting denizens of his home town. FtH told us the story in voice-over and while I love Joe Flanigan's really odd voice, the technique took away from the story rather than adding to it. The closest cousin I can think of is "A River Runs Through It", but in that movie the V.O. didn't take over the storytelling, but added perspective to it. I think the problem is that the voice over is a film-noir technique, and the cinematography while occasionally brilliant, was generally flat, and in a naturalistic style which left me confused by the fusion of the two.

Harry wasn't as likable to me as Nick saw him, and Nick wasn't as interesting as we were meant to see him. The characters were relegated to second status under the narration and never really allowed to become real. For all of its disparate parts, the movie wasn't great, but in a way it is memorable, if only because it had potential that wasn't realized.

The absolute best part of the movie was the awesome original score/music by Mark Nichols. February 11, 2007

Powerful Presentation

Joe Flanigan out did himself with this one. Sadly, the unrated version appeared to have several spots that were muted where it looked like profanity had been uttered.

This is a powerful story that should have received more attention. About fulfilling your dreams. It involves the meeting of two men, and how they each save the other. October 21, 2005

Charming, but...

This movie has all the hallmarks of a well-acted, well-produced indie film, but it missed its target for me somehow. I was distracted by its slight anachronistic feel; the film almost had a 1940s texture to it, but appeared to be taking place in more modern times -- it was difficult to tell. Regardless, Joe Flanigan as the writer Nick charms with a pitch-perfect performance, so for that alone, the film is worth a viewing. September 20, 2005

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