I give this film a generous rating because I do believe artistically it has some merit. I am surprised about a few things:
1. Poor science fiction set design. It is difficult to manage a monster movie without good sets and props, although the costume did an adequate job of working with Burke's expressions.
2. Little cohesion in thought processes. Most of Hartley's works are famous for their consistent and minutely carved characters. One sees the craftsmanship in the design when conversations that begin at one part of the movie yield drastic consequences later, or when conversations that did not happen effect later events in the film. There are certainly interesting characters, and the conversations are likewise full of potential for interaction, argument and drama. In his masterpiece 'Theory of Achievement' which is arguably just as fragmented in terms of ideas and dialog, we see the characters interact in ways that were never made explicit, and yet are in continuity with the work. The continuity between conversations in No Such Thing breaks down, the theme dissolves, despite the intrigue of the dialog of each section of the film. In most of Hartley's film, which are dialog driven, every word is important and classical devices are used to draw the viewer into the action... (As the dialog between Emmet and Adrienne Shelley's character in Unbelievable Truth mimics theatrical practice - strophes, single lines, phrases - acceleration of dialog).. Again, there is a lot of space here and very little attention paid to the depth of the characters involved. Perhaps here the research into the film breaks down - it would have been helpful to visit and talk with scientists who exist in this cutting edge area of science, see their workspaces and understand how they view the world...
3. Settings are lovely - an unusual match for the film. Required a bit of editing fine tuning - acting appeared stilted on occasion and unnatural. Hard to see if this is intentional during the early portion of the film.
Overall, and interesting collection of conversation of the existence of myths, miracles and monsters, media and some other crazy m words...
1. Poor science fiction set design. It is difficult to manage a monster movie without good sets and props, although the costume did an adequate job of working with Burke's expressions.
2. Little cohesion in thought processes. Most of Hartley's works are famous for their consistent and minutely carved characters. One sees the craftsmanship in the design when conversations that begin at one part of the movie yield drastic consequences later, or when conversations that did not happen effect later events in the film. There are certainly interesting characters, and the conversations are likewise full of potential for interaction, argument and drama. In his masterpiece 'Theory of Achievement' which is arguably just as fragmented in terms of ideas and dialog, we see the characters interact in ways that were never made explicit, and yet are in continuity with the work. The continuity between conversations in No Such Thing breaks down, the theme dissolves, despite the intrigue of the dialog of each section of the film. In most of Hartley's film, which are dialog driven, every word is important and classical devices are used to draw the viewer into the action... (As the dialog between Emmet and Adrienne Shelley's character in Unbelievable Truth mimics theatrical practice - strophes, single lines, phrases - acceleration of dialog).. Again, there is a lot of space here and very little attention paid to the depth of the characters involved. Perhaps here the research into the film breaks down - it would have been helpful to visit and talk with scientists who exist in this cutting edge area of science, see their workspaces and understand how they view the world...
3. Settings are lovely - an unusual match for the film. Required a bit of editing fine tuning - acting appeared stilted on occasion and unnatural. Hard to see if this is intentional during the early portion of the film.
Overall, and interesting collection of conversation of the existence of myths, miracles and monsters, media and some other crazy m words...