Pssst, want to check out No Such Thing in our new look?
Information
- Year
- 2001
- Runtime
- 102 min.
- Director
- Hal Hartley
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy, Fantasy
- Rating *
- 6.2
- Votes *
- 3,327
- Checks
- 203
- Favs
- 13
- Dislikes
- 8
- Favs/checks
- 6.4% (1:16)
- Favs/dislikes
- 2:1
Top comments
-
Siskoid
It is very strange to see a Hal Hartley film that has money behind it. No Such Thing has Iceland locations, make-up effects on par with Buffy's best, and Sarah Polley playing against Helen Mirren and Julie Christie. It also feels like a misstep. On the surface of it, it kind of asks what would happen if Belle took the Beast out of his castle and into the world. And ultimately, it's about what monsters represent, why we created them in the first place, and what happens when we stop taking them seriously (i.e. allow our own monstrous behavior to go unchallenged). Mix in some satire about the media and its role in all this and you get something that's by turns too pointed and too obtuse, an existential short film extended to meandering lengths by pointless digressions. Sarah Polley is terrific, though I sometimes wonder what her character is thinking. Beatrice seems underwritten. Everyone but the monster does. I want to like it more, but it made me listless and I draw themes out of No Such Thing almost despite itself. 8 months ago