I love this movie so much

You won't be disappointed!

One of my all time favorites.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Josh Hutton (Robert John Burke) leaves prison and returns into town. Pearl is shocked by his return. Audry Hugo (Adrienne Shelly) is a depressed cynical teen. She is accepted into Harvard but doesn't see the point of going. Her boyfriend is callous to her concerns. She suggests a mechanics job at her dad's garage to Hutton. Everybody starts to speculate what he actually did.Hal Hartley has written some mannered and artificial dead pan humor. I actually like that but it has to be delivered expertly. The delivery is lacking from most of these actors and the directing is not quite there. I can see good potential for something great. Adrienne is not really young enough for the teen role. Her character could have been written as a twenty something. Overall, this is an interesting indie that could have been more compelling.

Long Island auteur Hal Hartley writes, directs, and co-produces his first feature film. His second, "Trust," has more polish and a better reputation, but "The Unbelievable Truth" has plenty to recommend it. Hartley came onto the scene as kind of a Generation X independent film voice, and while the acting quality in this feature debut is more uneven than in subsequent efforts, his almost surreal approach to dialogue, situations, and characterization is intact right out of the gate.The story is of a man who comes back to his hometown after years in prison, and the young girl he meets once he gets there. As in "Trust," Hartley uses coincidences to underline the intersecting lives and fates of his characters, and his characterization emphasizes the random way in which so many of us foolishly let our hearts lead us around rather than our heads...although ultimately the day belongs to those who are able to conquer this tendency.While Hartley forcefully instructs his actors to play their lines totally deadpan as much as possible, the situations and character reactions lead to lots of uproarious laughs that will not be evident to many viewers if they're expecting sitcom-type humor, and the way his plots twist is a joy. For the sophisticated movie fan, Hartley's films are extremely interesting and a terrific exercise in watching a true original at work.

What we have here is an indie romantic comedy, adorably done. Adrienne Shelly, who is petite and cute and pale as winter snow, stars as Audrey Hugo, a mechanic's daughter who has been accepted at Harvard (or so she says) but has no intention of going. She is obsessed with what she sees as the inevitability of nuclear war and attendant horrors, which she reads about aloud to herself and anyone who will listen.It is 1988 and this is Long Island, New York, although it looks a lot like Jersey to me. Certainly this is not the high rent district of Long Island. Her boyfriend is shallow and doesn't listen to her. Her father thinks she ought to go to the local community college which he notes is a whole lot cheaper than Harvard. She is bored with her senior year at high school and usually cuts.Enter tall, handsome, dressed all in black Robert Burke as Josh Hutton just released from prison. People who meet him ask, "Are you a priest?" He answers, "I'm a mechanic." And indeed he is an especially wondrous one who, of course, goes to work for Audrey's father, Vic Hugo (Chris Cooke) and becomes invaluable. Although it seems that Josh killed a girl and then the girl's father some years ago, we of course know from the title and from Josh's obviously sterling character that the "unbelievable truth" must be otherwise. And of course so does Audrey who is immediately smitten with him. But Josh is apparently practicing something like celibacy ("Are you a priest?") and rebuffs Audrey's advances, thereby initiating a whole slew of romantic misunderstandings wittily tossed about by director Hal Hartley along with some spiffy Mamet-like dialogue.Now enter a photographer who makes Audrey into a fashion model, first her feet, but eventually the entire petite torso. Physically she moves to New York City, but her heart is still with Josh at her dad's auto repair shop. She even carries Josh's wrench in her handbag, with which she threatens the photo guy when he tries to get too close.What makes this film a delight in spite of all the obvious elements and the predictable complications is the original, independent and sparkling character of Audrey, the true blue integrity of Josh, some clever and funny dialogue, and a kind of warm puppy feel usually the signature property of a Nora Ephron film starring Meg Ryan.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

Not Hartley's best, though I still rate it a ten. Hartley began his odd spin on movie dialogue with this (not quite) debut film. Adrienne Shelley is beautiful and perfectly cast--it's very difficult to tell if she is a brilliant actress or merely brilliantly directed. Martin Donovan (for him it's not difficult to tell--he's brilliant) is understated, yes, everyone says that, and mysterious. The B Movie backup cast leaves something to be desired, but somehow that helps propel this odd little gem. Only David Mamet has the same level of idiosyncratic brilliance in scripting dialogue which, while not particularly true to life, is refreshingly new and always entertaining. Hartley revels in repetition and the use of the pause. People don't talk like this, but then again, they do, just not in films. 'Henry Fool' and 'Book of Life' are his best, but this early work is indispensable.