"I've already read the poems, even, and especially the
later ones, as an evocation of the joys and sorrows
of influence. The evolution of one's own manner of
perceiving and inevitably expressing the world to one's
self and to others the sadness of breaking with the
cherished attitudes inherited from the friendly,
encouraging, but ultimately limited sources that
must be outgrown ... Decisive, committed, admittedly
obscure work indifferent to mainstream approval and
unafraid of confrontation with moral and aesthetic
absolutes. This, more than you might imagine, is
what keeps people from jumping out windows and
under trains."

Susan, in _Ned Rifle_

_Henry Fool_ is about the transformation power of Art; _Fay
Grim_ attempts an expansive satire of geopolitics paranoia.
_Ned Rifle_, the third film named after Hartley's fictional
Grims family over 17 years, is a complete surprise; it resets
the saga, collapses its scope to the most personal, and offers
a mature meditation on destiny and faith (religious or otherwise).
Which is not to obscure the fact that it is Hartley's funniest
work since the first part of the trilogy; Liam Aiken and
Aubrey Plaza's deadpan comedic genius mark this a passing-of-
the-torch moment, proving that Hartley is very much relevant
for the video-streaming generation. Yet there is no denying
the seriousness of this effort. Every time two characters meet
it is like galaxies in collision, yielding life-changing moments.
The hapless loners who populate its universe live on a spiritual
knife's edge, ready and willing to be nudged towards an alternate
future by the smallest force.

Thus we learn in retrospect that Henry Fool's introduction of
sex and Rimbaud to Susan (Aubrey Plaza) at age 13 put her in
psychiatric wards. His marriage to Fay got her convicted of
terrorism and incarceration for life. Yet the women are not
consumed by rancor; they are philosophical about the joys and
sorrows of his influence. Fay bore him a son and Susan found
her undying object of love (sadly failing to outgrow him).
The brilliant and unstable Susan's dissertation on Simon Grim's
poetry gets him writing again. For all his excesses and
lies, Henry converts yet another garbageman to high literature.
A defining moment of the film -- perhaps of the entire trilogy
-- finds him criticizing Leibniz's theological absolutism,
arguing that "best possible world" happenstances inevitably
corrupt. Indeed, making tough choices -- balancing
morality and loyalty -- is a central theme in all three films,
be it Simon helping Henry flee America and murder charges, Fay
consorting with Islamic jihadists, and Ned covering up his
priest and foster-dad's affair with a woman*. The Devil's
handiwork seems everywhere.

Yet it is telling that _Ned Rifle_ opens with Liam Aiken kneeling
in prayer on a slope. The seemingly tilted frame recalls the
endless use of Dutch Angles in _Fay Grim_. But it is a tease, an
optical illusion. Both the camera and Ned remain upright all film
long, literally and figuratively, unlike Fay Grim swaying in the
political winds. The character has regained the serenity and
idiosyncratic steadfastness of young Robert John Burke and Martin
Donovan. Ned, played by Aiken over 17 years, has rejected salvation
by Art or politics. He has turned from the porn-watching youth
in _Fay Grim to a clean-shaven virgin; he has found religion.

It is unclear if the writer-director of _The Book of Life_ ever
lost his faith, but Hartley has certainly rediscovered New York
state (Upstate standing in for the pacific northwest). The
restlessness of Europe never let him create a major cinematic
work, but collaboration with the Grim protagonists as well as
Angus the editor (all played by the same actors) and cameos by
stoic old-timers Donovan, Burke, Karen Silas, Bill Sage, and
others in new roles** have re-invigorated his focus and discipline.
Elina Lowensohn is missing but is represented by her worth
successor Aubrey Plaza, sexy, unhinged, damaged, and irresistable,
all the men want to save her. That is among the last sentiments
uttered by Henry Fool, who at long last redeems himself by
returning to her side. She shoots him, expanding on the
ending to _Breathless_ and Godard's dictim about a girl, a gun,
and only one bullet. The film ends with misdirection and
the sudden deaths that recall _Amateur_. But ever obsessed
with Oedipus, Hartley has Ned reject the cowardice of his
father, who runs away at the conclusion of both earlier films.
He stays behind to face prison. If Susan and Henry both live,
the entire nuclear family will be behind bars. Here Hartley
may have revealed a new influence late in his career -- Bresson
and his obscure imprisonment sagas, appropriately name-checked
by Ned. I hope the characters survive and extend this saga.
For Hartley's most exciting work, in collaboration with a new
new generation in his stock company, are still to come.

* Here Hartley pointedly rebukes the media's knee-jerk dismissal of
Christian priests as nothing but hypocrites and sex-offenders.
In his films, Catholic priests have always been blue-collared
fixers of people and things.

**The Grim family trilogy, with all protagonists portrayed by
the same actors, spanned 17 years. Linklater's much-hyped
_Boyhood_ was shot over only 12. The latter went for
kitchen-sink realism, as Linklater often does, and I couldn't
sit through half an hour. Hartley's films, in contrast, do
not shy away from re-interpreting the protagonists and their
back stories in the service of new, overarching themes. He
has always been a far superior writer.

(for A.)

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