(SPECIAL NOTE: Capsule version of the review is available here.)
Success of Quentin Tarantino in mid 1990s made American independent cinema fashionable for a time and thus allowed general audience to become familiar with some names previously known only to more snobbish among the critics. One of those names was Hal Hartley, author who had created small but dedicated following by making films that had transcended usual plot and character conventions. Amateur, his fourth film made in 1994, was one of his more ambitious projects, at least judging by the very well known names in the cast.
The plot begins on the New York side walk where a man named Thomas (played by Tate Donovan) begins to recover from the effects of an apparent fall. Those effects include amnesia and when he stumbles into diner, he is helped by Isabelle (played by Isabelle Huppert), ex-nun who now writes pornographic novels for a living. While Thomas tries to get his life back together, Sofia (played by Elina Lowensohn), one of the world's most notorious porn stars, wants to turn her life around. In the conversation with Edward (played by Damian Young), an accountant, it is revealed that Thomas used to be Sofia's tyrannical and exploitative husband. Sofia, in an attempt to get rid of Thomas, pushed him through the window and took some floppy disks including important data about some shady deals. Because of that Sofia and Edward become the targets of two professional killers.
The plot of Amateur looks like it could have been used for thriller or comedy, but the end result is not particularly exciting nor funny. It seems that Hal Hartley spent all of his creative energy for making quirky, unusual characters and later didn't know what to do with them. There are some interesting plot points, most of them dealing with shocking amounts of violence, but the ending is rather predictable, which is shame for a film of such artistic ambitions. Until that point the audience's patience is going to be thoroughly tested with film's glacial pace. On the other hand, the acting is top notch, especially the performance of Isabelle Huppert (who had personally lobbied for the role). Because of that Amateur doesn't represent the complete waste of time. Yet that isn't enough for Amateur to be interesting to anyone except the most fanatical admirers of Hal Hartley or those who require some quick fix of unconventional cinema.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on March 24th 2003)
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