THE AMATEUR
A film review by Raymond Johnston
Copyright 1994 Raymond Johnston
Dir: Hal Hartley Starring Isabelle Huppert, Martin Donovan, Elina Lowensohn, Damian Young
Hal Hartley's films are often compared to early Jean Luc Godard. This effort is his most Godardian, down to the casting of French actress Isabelle Huppert. The plot is something like PIERROT LE FOU meets NORTH BY NORTHWEST. Hartley takes the New Wave themes of love, money and religion and embodies them in an ex-nun who tries to write pornography, accountants turned hitmen, an amnesiac, and a grown up child porn star. All of these people are mixed up in an international plot based in Amsterdam involving a MacGuffin, some floppy disks.
The title not only to Huppert's character being an amateur writer, but other characters amateurish attempts at blackmail and other crimes. The film is also shot, quite intentionally, in an amateurish style. The fun story, while quite humorous, is quite contrived. The acting is very toned down to a dry deadpan. All of the film, including scenes set in upstate New York, was shot in Manhattan. The film is entirely in close-up and no attempt is made to develop space according to normal Hollywood rules. The overall effect is that of watching a prolonged student project, but of course a very good one.
The lack of normal spatial development creates a disjointed view of New York. No landmarks are seen except Grand Central Station, a location from NORTH BY NORTHWEST. It is not until the characters mention it, that it is clear that the location of the film even is New York. Hartley presents a deconstructed New York of alleys, diners, abandoned buildings, stairways, that could be anywhere. They are generic crime drama locations.
Comedy in the film comes from the banality of the conversation. Hitmen discuss the shortcomings of various cellular phone models, porn publishers decry their lost dreams of making an important statement. A policewoman goes on and on to confused missing persons until fellow officers tell her to get a grip. While the film is funny, there are no real jokes per se.
The adult themes of pornography are dealt with in a subdued way. The film avoids being a sleazy low budget excuse for nudity. In fact considering that some of the characters are obsessed with sex, the film has very little sex and no nudity. This helps to keep the film focused on the characters.
Isabelle Huppert said that her participation in the project grew from a fan letter. She wrote to Hal Hartley after seeing his film TRUST. She said that she would like to work in more American independent films. She pointed out a similarity in the way that Hartley and her long time mentor Godard work. Both allow for spontaneity during rehearsals but want something very precise during filming. The film was shot over six weeks after a five week rehearsal and is funded in part by American Playhouse, a division of public television.
A low-budget film like this one is certainly not for the same audience that revels in the action scenes of SPEED or TRUE LIES. If you prefer the classics of the French New Wave to modern Hollywood, I recommend THE AMATEUR very highly. Hartley is trying to keep the spirit of the New Wave alive.
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