Simple Men (1992)

One of Hal Hartley's weaker efforts, it still has some amusingly surreal bits that no one else could have produced. In his earlier, highly stylized deadpan comedies, the director had explored the effect of suburban vacuity on characters whose alienation was often droll, and occasionally hilarious. Here, Hartley has dropped his postmodern characters into an emptier, more "universal" locale with less fortunate results. While, the director clearly insists on the artifice of his narrative and characters, the parody of melodramatic plot devices and ironically clichéd dialogue quickly become tiresome -- an attempt to make a Godard film without Godard's cataract of ideas. Still, there are things to like here, including an escaped nun who's desperate for a drag on a cigarette, an extended discussion of the role of Madonna in a capitalist economy, and what may be the most hilariously lethargic dance sequence in film history. As with Kubrick, the unique demands of Hartley's films lead one to assume he's gotten the effects he wanted from his cast, but the gifted Karen Sillas, who raises any scene in which she appears, seems hemmed in by this style of uninflected acting. As is often the case with Hartley, the film's mise-en-scéne is its most expressive and consistently rewarding feature. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide