Not even bad in a good way

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Double-crossed and forced to flee town to evade the authorities, a small time crook joins his younger brother on a quest to track down their father, a former sporting legend turned anarchist, in this deliberately paced drama from Hal Hartley of 'Trust' fame. The film features some great dialogue as the brothers banter about whether there is any difference between being "in love" and "thinking with your penis" and as they discuss whether certain music artists let themselves be exploited or take control of whether how they are being exploited. Quirky supporting characters include a sarcastic local policeman and a store clerk set on learning French to help make his upcoming date with an Italian woman run smoother (!). The most intriguing character though is the brothers' father, and it never quite makes sense how few scenes he has, all cobbled at the end. Getting his disciples to recite politically charged verses, their father has become a bit of a cult figure, professing answers for all of his followers and yet disconnected from his own flesh and blood. Spending more time on the crook being double-crossed may have also helped since his heartbreak over that is a chief motivation (then again, Mary McKenzie is so amateurish as the woman who crossed him that it is a welcome relief when she disappears from screen). Whatever the case, this is certainly nowhere near as engaging a movie as 'Trust'; similarly though, 'Simple Men' is a film that works best in the scenes where the characters simply interact with one another and share their views.

Wow, I must say this is probably the best indie film I've seen in years and it has wormed its way into my top 10 movies ever. "Simple Men" is very well written and the dialogue is genius. Plus, anyone doing a dance number to a sonic youth song is a winner in my book.

This was the first Hal Hartley film I ever saw. I stumbled upon it at the video store really. Hartley is in many ways a completely original filmmaker. You've rarely seen a film like the ones he makes. His later films have lacked the humor of this one and the wonderful Trust. Its the story of two weird brothers on a quest to find their whacked out father. A Hal Hartley film isn't really complete without Martin Donovan (Matthew) and Adrienne Shelly (Maria) but Hartley gets it half right by putting Martin in here in a small role. It woulda been a better film with Donovan in the lead. But still well worth watching...

On first viewing, I could have sworn this was a Sam Shepard play. It has the short lilting dialogue for much of the film and sounds as though it were written for the stage. It is directed very much in that fashion and is a fascinating, captivating set of performances...understated and full of deeper meanings that don't shout at you in the more typical "Hollywood" tradition!