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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
HANDSOME HARRY Bette Gordon’s latest film Handsome Harry is, according to Gordon, a story about male relationships, but, more than anything else, ends up centering on two themes that circle around each other: regret and aging. Can one get through life without regretting anything significant? What happens when one ends up burdened with remorse? What happens when fundamentally decent people commit a horrible act? What happens to a person who denies who he really is, and what kind of life does he lead? The film has been described as a psychological mystery, and it is indeed that, in a sense. Harry Sweeney (Jamey Sheridan) receives a call from an old Navy buddy, Tom Kelly (Steve Buscemi), who lies dying in a hospital. Thirty years earlier, they and a group of friends were involved in the savage beating of a fellow enlistee, Dave Kagan (Campbell Scott), and Kelly, rotting with guilt, begs Sweeney to seek out Kagan to find absolution. The psychological mystery has to do with Sweeney’s misremembering of the incident and how he eventually comes to figure out what truly happened. Really, though, the mystery isn’t so unfathomable. What really drives the narrative isn’t the sussing out of the incident. The answers are there in the first moments. Rather, the narrative really takes on the shape of a quest. Sweeney sets off to revisit each person who was involved in the incident, in search of not simply the truth, but also of pieces of his old self. In the dénouement, his reunion with Kagan is, while a fait accompli, satisfying as the entire narrative propels them towards their reconciliation. Gordon notes in the press notes that she was influenced by John Cassavetes while making the film, especially Husbands and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. This influence is obvious, as Cassavetes was more interested in realistic performances and less interested in creating a distinct visual style. Gordon explains, “With Handsome Harry, I was interested in creating an honest and personal character film by working more closely with the actors and crafting their performances. I am always interested in the visual aspects of storytelling, but as I continue to direct, my interest in working with talented actors and crafting performances has grown.” In one sense, this is a completely valid choice, and the results are excellent. The acting is incredible, and the narrative is interesting. At the same time, Cassavetes was a product of his time. It seems difficult to make a contemporary film and completely ignore the visual aesthetic altogether. This isn’t to say that Handsome Harry is a visually bland film. The shots are composed well, and overall it’s expertly put together. At the same time, it feels extremely workmanlike, and none of the emotion is ever carried into the visual elements.
It’s silly to argue that just because film is a fantastic
medium for visual expression that it always has to be used that way. But
because Gordon is consciously neglecting that dimension, the film feels
somewhat empty. The irony is that in a search for honest performances,
the aesthetic feels somewhat disingenuous.
Andrew Beckerman
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