Hal Hartley

Hal Hartley            

         Hal Hartley is an American director born in 1959 who was really made popular during the Independent Film movement during the 1980’s and 1990’s.  Born and raised in New York, Hartley aspired to become a painter but grew fond of making films.  His first feature film was made in the late 80’s and was called The Unbelievable Truth.  From the beginning Hartley’s style was evident.  The humor in the film was often very dry to go along with the pause-filled dialogue.  The meaning of life is a theme through a lot of Hartley’s films (as we’ll see in the Girl from Monday).  As far as camera movement goes, Hartley is fond of Dutch angle and seems to do a lot of awkward camera movements, notably by using shutter speed.

         One film I watched and thoroughly enjoyed was called The Girl From Monday.  I just happened to pick it because it was the first film of Hartley’s I could find on Netflix, I won’t lie.  The title made me curious and then I started to watch it.  The entire film is narrated by one of the characters, Jack, and is done so in a very monotonous voice.  He explains right off the bat that the film is based in the future and that he is involved with a corporation that belittles humans to nothing more than consumers. 

         Most of the film deals with one woman, Cecile, who works with Jack in the company.  The main plot of the film centers around one policy the company has, that states sex is to be used as a way to gain credit for buying things; not for pleasure.  Cecile is taken to a party where she sees a group of teenagers having sex for fun and she is intrigued.  She then becomes part of a resistance trying to stop the corporation from using people in such a way.  The film goes on to show what Cecile does as a way to try and bring the corporation down.  As for the title character, the Girl from Monday; it turns out Monday is the name of the planet and the girl really has nothing to do with the movie.  Sorry to spoil it for anyone.  (27:13)

         As you can see from the clip, Hartley uses the Dutch angle through the entire scene just as he does throughout the whole movie.  A slow shutter speed is also being used, going from very slow to an almost normal feel but you still are being jarred while watching.

         The next film I watched was called Fay Grim.  This one is the sequel to one of Hartley’s earlier films Henry Fool.  The story is about the main character from the previous film’s wife.  Fay Grim is a single parent raising her teenaged son, trying to keep him from the life his father lived.  Henry, her husband, was a criminal who fled the country when he got into some trouble.  The central plot in this film is about Fay working with the CIA trying to find her husband who actually didn’t board the plane.

         The film is written in typical Hal Hartley style though unlike the Girl from Monday, this one has quicker dialogue.  He still uses Dutch angles but he only brings in the slow shutter speed for more dramatic scenes instead of the entire film.  The scene I’m showing is the beginning credits.  We see Fay in a panic trying to get her life together.  She’s short of breath, talking to a pastor and worried for her son who has just gotten in trouble at school.  (00:00) The chemistry between the actors seems very natural to me even though they act distant.  You can tell Fay isn’t the typical mother type, seeming almost like a teenager herself in the way she punishes and treats her son using the word ‘like’ in her vocabulary a lot. 

         Hal Hartley contributes greatly to auteur theory.  He has a very unique artistic style.  Watching the first ten minutes of any film would more than likely reveal if it’s a Hartley film or not; just see if you find yourself tilting your head to the side a lot.