For his sixth feature, American indie hero Hal Hartley has pulled off a neat trick. He has turned out a film that is the same as his impressive back catalogue - quirky talk-driven curiosities about people living on the fringes of society - yet somehow different, managing to imbue his usual obsessions with the freshness and vitality of a first-time director.
All the usual Hartley trademarks - oblique observations, zero degree humour, the experimentation with storytelling conventions - are thrown into the mix but what distinguishes Henry Fool from his previous movies is the skewed satire about the "real" world (everything from publishing to politics), a dash of (literal) toilet humour and a touching demeanour toward its characters' flaws and aspirations. Ryan is intimidating as Henry, at once forceful yet pitiable, and Posey lends layers of decency and complexity to her potentially one-note sex bomb. But the film finds its real centre in Urbaniak, his quiet demeanour growing gradually affective as the film progresses.
