NED RIFLE written and directed by Hal Hartley, with Liam Aiken, Thomas Jay Ryan, Parker Posey and Aubrey Plaza. A Possible Films release. 85 minutes. Opens Friday (March 27). Rating: NNNN
Where to watch: Netflix, iTunes
Richard Linklater’s long-term productions – Boyhood and the Before trilogy – get all the acclaim, but elsewhere in America writer/director Hal Hartley has been working on his own decades-spanning trilogy. It’s just that Hartley’s is more an absurdist comedy than a philosophical inquiry into maturity.
Ned Rifle finishes the story arc begun in 1997’s Henry Fool and extended in 2006’s Fay Grim, with the son of those two characters (Liam Aiken) turning 18 and setting out to find his father (Thomas Jay Ryan) and kill him for ruining the life of his mother (Parker Posey). But first he has to figure out what the deal is with the odd girl (Aubrey Plaza) who’s stalking his uncle, poet-turned-web-comedian Simon (James Urbaniak).
Hartley’s deadpan timing hasn’t lost a beat, his ensemble knows how to play these notes in their sleep, and newbie Plaza slots in perfectly.
It’s weird, jazzy fun, just like the good old days.
Don’t miss our interview with Hal Hartley and Liam Aitken here.
