I really loved Hal Hartley's "Simple Men" and looked forward to this movie, but it was so inconsistent I kept watching only because I assumed it was an allegory that would pay off eventually. It didn't. The title character was unbelievably irritating. Thomas Jay Ryan overacts so much I was beginning to think the movie was meant to be this bad, but with the "flawed hero" image that's painted by Hartley I knew by the end that it was intentional. He tries to pack so much into this one he creates innumerable holes in his storyline (i.e., Posey's pregnancy coincides with Simon's burst of fame, but he doesn't sign his publishing contract or read Henry's confession until the baby's born - 7-8 months later!; and after living there for 7 years, why is Henry unaware that Mr. Deng's corner coffee/poetry-reading shop has been changed to a fad-following rock n'roll club?) I guess I just didn't embrace the spirit of the message regarding the merits of nonconformity because of the bad acting and storyline. Hartley has done much better.
Review of Henry Fool
