Simple Men (1992)

Director:

Hal Hartley

Writer:

Hal Hartley (writer)

Release Date:

14 October 1992 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

There's no such thing as adventure and romance, only trouble and desire.

Plot:

Bitter about being double-crossed by the women he loved, (and with the police after him to boot), Bill vows to seduce the next woman he sees...

Plot Keywords:

Catholic Schoolgirl | Brother Brother Relationship | Nun | Long Island New York | Motorcycle

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Robert John Burke	...	Bill McCabe (as Robert Burke)
Bill Sage	...	Dennis McCabe
Karen Sillas	...	Kate
Elina Löwensohn	...	Elina
Martin Donovan	...	Martin
Mark Chandler Bailey	...	Mike (as Mark Bailey)
Chris Cooke	...	Vic
Jeffrey Howard	...	Ned Rifle
Holly Marie Combs	...	Kim
Joe Stevens	...	Jack
Damian Young	...	Sheriff
Marietta Marich	...	Mom (Meg)
John MacKay	...	Dad
Bethany Wright	...	Mary
Richard Reyes	...	Security Guard

Also Known As:

Uomini semplici (Italy)
Begär, besvär och enkla män (Sweden) [sv]
Gvarim Pshutim (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Homens Simples (Portugal) [pt]
Ludzie jak my (Poland) [pl]
Simple Men (Spain) [es]
Simple Men (France) [fr]
Simples Desejo (Brazil) [pt]

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Italy | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Trivia:

"There's no such thing as adventure. There's no such thing as romance. There's only trouble and desire." It's probably the best-known phrase of this movie, but actually it's a quote from 'Lang, Fritz''s movie _Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (1922)_.

Quotes:

Sheriff: Why do women exist?

Movie Connections:

References Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (1922)

Soundtrack:

Sleeping Pill

Philosophical suburban grotesque

There's Hollywood, there's Dogma... and there's Hal Hartley. The absurd storyline of "Simple Men" reminded me of Pedro Almodóvar, it's visual impact made me think of Hitchcock's suburban nightmares like "Shadow of a doubt" or "The trouble with Harry". It's either a deeply philosophical movie which raises many questions (without providing the answers), or some sort of grotesque (Elina Lowensohn's performance!), depending on how you look at it. "Simple men" is one of those movies which leave you with the impression that there was more than met the eye, and maybe there was. Above all, it's an unusual, tranquil and highly entertaining film with very likeable characters.