Amateur

Hal Hartley, Fra/GB/USA, 1994, 105mins

A man with no memory, an ex-nun who writes pornography, the most notorious porno actress of all time and an accountant are just some of the off-beat characters flung together in Hartley's quirky, yet, for him, mainstream film, treading the path laid down by Simple Men.

Hartley regulars Martin Donovan and Elina Lowenson join French actress Isabelle Huppert (who got the part by writing a fan letter to Hartley) in an excellent cast.

Isabelle (Huppert) is a character with an unusual amount of inner contradiction. Claiming to be both a nymphomaniac and a virgin, she reconciles this with the statement that she's just "choosy". However she reacts sympathetically when Thomas (Donovan) crashes into her life and takes him in.

Thomas is more or less helpless as he tries to fit together the pieces of his past which will solve his current predicament whilst being pursued by a maniac accountant turned hitman with a new method of balancing the books.

At times this film's plot may seem contrived to all but Hartley's fans, but the skill with which he manages to introduce seemingly outrageous events into ordinary situations is sufficiently accomplished that the viewer can suspend their disbelief and be drawn into Hartley's quasi-reality.

The director also tries to raise some serious questions about responsibility and identity. Are we responsible for actions we have no knowledge of committing? Do we create or own identity or is it moulded by those around us? Can we truly be in control of our lives and destinies? Or are we merely pawns in some higher game?

In trying to graft these ideas onto his own brand of ironic humour, Hartley loses some of the simplicity present in his earlier films. However he has mastered the ability of pulling off what, under a different helmer, might have seemed merely stupid but that, in this film at least, really doesn't matter in the slightest. Hartley's style is almost European now and a miilion miles from directors such as Ron Howard or Kevin Reynolds - which can only be good for American cinema in general.

Now if only Ken Loach was more like him...

Programme Note by Neil Chue Hong
Placed online 26/2/96

A man (Martin Donovan) staggers into a coffee shop. An amnesiac, he is taken in by a ex-nun (Isabelle Huppert), who has only recently left her convent. Various people are after the man, for a number of reasons...

Although more conventional than writer/director Hartley's previous movies - it's clear that this is a thriller of sorts - Amateur is defintely not a straightforward genre movie. Hartley instead puts the emphasis on quirky characters and ironic humour, unforgettable examples being an oversensitive cop; an accountant turned hitman; and the ex-nun, a would be writer of pornography who manages to combine being a nymphomaniac and a virgin on the grounds of being "choosy".

Amateur also manages to raise some pretty serious ideas. Hartley explores matters of identity and culpability: Are the movies characters the competent individuals they try to project themselves as, or (the movie's title being the clue here) the amateurs they come across as instead? Is our identity decided by us or by others? How much can we shape or change our identity? Can someone with a 'new' identity be held responsible for the actions of an 'old' self they no longer know?

Hal Hartley is definitely a talent to watch for the future - and he has an impressive body of films to watch in the present.

Review by Keith H. Brown
Taken from EUFS Programme 1995-96