TRUST - Part Two
Where is Part ONE? I'll post that later. This post is about movies, mainly involving Hal Hartley and Adrienne Shelly.
Hal Hartley is an independent movie maker who made a big entrance with his film, The Unbelievable Truth, in 1989. He seems to have been part of a wave of really influential indie film makers, which included Jim Jarmusch, Richard Linklater, the Coen Brothers, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Kevin Smith, Daisy Mayer, and the great Roberto Benigni. Something generally in common in the films by these geniuses is that one could often, "hear the writing." A little stiff or forced, yet seemingly fine with that. I guess it let people know, "This is an actual indie movie!" And, there was a new realism mixed with a new sensitivity, sometimes with a harsh or stark edge to the movies.
Adrienne Shelly was an actress, featured in Hartley's movies, who went on to write and direct films of her own. I was impressed by her when I saw the 1990 Halsey movie, Trust. I liked this movie because it explored, in a somewhat surreal/expressionist way, a phenomenon - trust - which was in the process of escaping from the American landscape, even then. Look at where we are, now.
Adrienne Shelly in "Trust" [Hal Hartley, 1990]
And now I am going to post some movies by these two characters, in chronological order. Aren't I nice?
The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
Same movie also HERE.
Here's a another clip from "Trust"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_yiDeYU_2s
Trust (1990)
Simple Men, 1992, Hal Hartley...
But, first the dance scene from that movie, featuring Sonic Youth, I think it's from their album, "Goo."
Simple Men dance
Simple Men (Hal Hartley 1992)
1994's "Sleep With Me" was a so-so indie movie, not by Hartley, which featured Adrienne Shelly and various other indie actors.
Sleep With Me (1994 Rory Kelly)
1996/7 "Sudden Manhattan" comedy, starring, written, directed - Adrienne Shelly...
Sudden Manhattan, 1996/7 Adrienne Shelly.
In this 1998 Hal Hartley mock-apocalypse movie, Yo La Tengo show up as the Salvation Army band.
The Book of Life (Hal Hartley 1998)
Same movie HERE.
Here are two full movies by Hal Hartley, 2001 and 2008.
The Girl from Monday is a 2005 American film directed by Hal Hartley. The film deals with the consequences of business monopolization and globalization. - It's a Sci-Fi! - Find it on your own.
Hal Hartley did three related movies, which could be called the, "Henry Fool," trilogy:
Henry Fool (1997 black comedy-drama) - Parker Posey, TJ Ryan, Urbaniac (RT89%) - Watch it buddy!
Fay Grimm (2006) espionage thriller - Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Urbaniac (RT46%) - Rent or buy.
Ned Rifle (2014 drama) - Parker Posey, TJ Ryan, Urbaniac, etc. (RT78%) - Free from the archives!
Hal Hartley also liked to dabble in shorts, and stream TV.
Adrienne Shelly appeared in many TV and movie venues during the 1990's and early 2000's, including in "The Atlantis Conspiracy," (2001 TV), which involved a mysterious suicide in NYC. After overseeing the making of, Sudden Manhattan, in 2006, she went on to write, direct and star in the comedy, "I'll Take You There," in 1999, which involved guns in NYC, as you can see in this clip...
I'll Take You There, 1999 Adrienne Shelley
In 2007, she released the delightful light drama, "Waitress," written, acted, directed by hers truly. I do like this movie, and it is the reason for this post. Without further delay...
Waitress, 2007 Adrienne Shelly
Actually, by the time this movie was released, Adrienne Shelly was dead. She was found hanging in her bathroom. This tragedy was considered a suicide, until Adrienne's husband, Andy Ostroy, pushed for a better investigation. The death was subsequently ruled to have been a murder.
Ostroy said that "Adrienne was the kindest, warmest, most loving, generous person I knew. She was incredibly smart, funny and talented, a bright light with an infectious laugh and huge smile that radiated inner and outer beauty... she was my best friend, and the person with whom I was supposed to grow old."[36]
The murderer was apprehended and jailed. However, after this, a tangle of legal/financial battles ensued. As described in the Wiki page.
Adrienne had another movie in the hopper, which was completed by her friends, and released posthumously, as, Serious Moonlight, a comedy featuring big stars, but not doing so well, reception-wise. I am not sure if this movie is free online, but here is a trailer...
Serious Moonlight 2008 Adrienne Shelly trailer.
Her themes seem to be getting increasingly grim, yes? Was she in a bad relationship? The premise of this movie reminds me a bit of, "Boxing Helena," a perverse comedy-mystery-thriller which gives a body that old Eraserhead twinge. You can watch it here, courtesy of Internet Archives, which is currently under threat from a legal suit, like everything else nowadays...
BOXING HELENA (full 1993 movie)
Of course, there was an outpouring of love and grief following the death of Adrienne Shelly. By 2015, Waitress had been rewritten into a Broadway musical. (If you look at the original movie, you may say, "Yes. I can see how this could be a musical. In retrospect). The musical toured in the USA and UK until at least 2022. It also emerged in Europe, in various iterations. The musical received mixed to positive reviews.
Here is a playlist for the Musical.
Or - here it is in Spanish (2+ hrs)
Here is a YouTube channel.
And here is ACT ONE (1 hr 13 min) -
Waitress 2015 musical Adrienne Shelley ACT ONE
In 2021, HBO made a documentary on the life of Adrienne Shelly, "Adrienne". Can't find it for yas, but here is the official trailer...
"Adrienne" 2021 HBO documentary trailer.
So, now you see why this subject was chosen for a post. The struggle innocence has against adversity.
Many of the films mentioned here have something in common. Of course, they variously share many different themes and motifs. But one thing that can be isolated is the subject, and trouble with, Trust. "How can I trust you when you don't hear me, since we are basically only talking to ourselves?"
"How can I trust you when the realities of life are so painful and ironic?"
"How can I trust you when I began my life basically as an abortion?"
The 1990's was a very interesting decade. It took us from the abstract, carefree, highfalutin' 1980's, to the tragedy of 9/11, and subsequent crashes of 2008 and 2023, generously peppered with mass shootings and weirder and weirder reality TV. Meanwhile, Henry Kissinger, the Club of Rome, the Trilateral Commission, the WEF, Soros, Pfizer, the DoD, the government and vile, dastardly politicians, were building a plan to ultimately exterminate most of the people on Earth, using shock doctrines and divide-and-conquer theatrics to do it.
Did we gradually lose trust, as a society, before this scheme played out, or because of it? Or were both, our psychology and the evil conspiracy, grown from the same soil, like the weather, emerging as a chaos out of larger, deeper changes - like growing debt?
We let ourselves get played.
In the yet-to-be written PART ONE of this little series, I will discuss all this more deeply. Unfortunately, I did write it out, but it all got deleted.
Now, here is one more clip, from the movie, "Trust," which is the real grabber. I saved it for last because I didn't want it to spoil your appetite for the other movie/s...
Trust (Hartley) falling clip.
Hal Hartley is an independent movie maker who made a big entrance with his film, The Unbelievable Truth, in 1989. He seems to have been part of a wave of really influential indie film makers, which included Jim Jarmusch, Richard Linklater, the Coen Brothers, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Kevin Smith, Daisy Mayer, and the great Roberto Benigni. Something generally in common in the films by these geniuses is that one could often, "hear the writing." A little stiff or forced, yet seemingly fine with that. I guess it let people know, "This is an actual indie movie!" And, there was a new realism mixed with a new sensitivity, sometimes with a harsh or stark edge to the movies.
Adrienne Shelly was an actress, featured in Hartley's movies, who went on to write and direct films of her own. I was impressed by her when I saw the 1990 Halsey movie, Trust. I liked this movie because it explored, in a somewhat surreal/expressionist way, a phenomenon - trust - which was in the process of escaping from the American landscape, even then. Look at where we are, now.
Click to viewAdrienne Shelly in "Trust" [Hal Hartley, 1990]
And now I am going to post some movies by these two characters, in chronological order. Aren't I nice?
The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
Same movie also HERE.
Here's a another clip from "Trust"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_yiDeYU_2s
Trust (1990)
Simple Men, 1992, Hal Hartley...
But, first the dance scene from that movie, featuring Sonic Youth, I think it's from their album, "Goo."
Simple Men dance
Simple Men (Hal Hartley 1992)
1994's "Sleep With Me" was a so-so indie movie, not by Hartley, which featured Adrienne Shelly and various other indie actors.
Sleep With Me (1994 Rory Kelly)
1996/7 "Sudden Manhattan" comedy, starring, written, directed - Adrienne Shelly...
Sudden Manhattan, 1996/7 Adrienne Shelly.
In this 1998 Hal Hartley mock-apocalypse movie, Yo La Tengo show up as the Salvation Army band.
The Book of Life (Hal Hartley 1998)
Same movie HERE.
Here are two full movies by Hal Hartley, 2001 and 2008.
The Girl from Monday is a 2005 American film directed by Hal Hartley. The film deals with the consequences of business monopolization and globalization. - It's a Sci-Fi! - Find it on your own.
Hal Hartley did three related movies, which could be called the, "Henry Fool," trilogy:
Henry Fool (1997 black comedy-drama) - Parker Posey, TJ Ryan, Urbaniac (RT89%) - Watch it buddy!
Fay Grimm (2006) espionage thriller - Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Urbaniac (RT46%) - Rent or buy.
Ned Rifle (2014 drama) - Parker Posey, TJ Ryan, Urbaniac, etc. (RT78%) - Free from the archives!
Hal Hartley also liked to dabble in shorts, and stream TV.
Adrienne Shelly appeared in many TV and movie venues during the 1990's and early 2000's, including in "The Atlantis Conspiracy," (2001 TV), which involved a mysterious suicide in NYC. After overseeing the making of, Sudden Manhattan, in 2006, she went on to write, direct and star in the comedy, "I'll Take You There," in 1999, which involved guns in NYC, as you can see in this clip...
I'll Take You There, 1999 Adrienne Shelley
In 2007, she released the delightful light drama, "Waitress," written, acted, directed by hers truly. I do like this movie, and it is the reason for this post. Without further delay...
Waitress, 2007 Adrienne Shelly
Actually, by the time this movie was released, Adrienne Shelly was dead. She was found hanging in her bathroom. This tragedy was considered a suicide, until Adrienne's husband, Andy Ostroy, pushed for a better investigation. The death was subsequently ruled to have been a murder.
Ostroy said that "Adrienne was the kindest, warmest, most loving, generous person I knew. She was incredibly smart, funny and talented, a bright light with an infectious laugh and huge smile that radiated inner and outer beauty... she was my best friend, and the person with whom I was supposed to grow old."[36]
The murderer was apprehended and jailed. However, after this, a tangle of legal/financial battles ensued. As described in the Wiki page.
Adrienne had another movie in the hopper, which was completed by her friends, and released posthumously, as, Serious Moonlight, a comedy featuring big stars, but not doing so well, reception-wise. I am not sure if this movie is free online, but here is a trailer...
Serious Moonlight 2008 Adrienne Shelly trailer.
Her themes seem to be getting increasingly grim, yes? Was she in a bad relationship? The premise of this movie reminds me a bit of, "Boxing Helena," a perverse comedy-mystery-thriller which gives a body that old Eraserhead twinge. You can watch it here, courtesy of Internet Archives, which is currently under threat from a legal suit, like everything else nowadays...
BOXING HELENA (full 1993 movie)
Of course, there was an outpouring of love and grief following the death of Adrienne Shelly. By 2015, Waitress had been rewritten into a Broadway musical. (If you look at the original movie, you may say, "Yes. I can see how this could be a musical. In retrospect). The musical toured in the USA and UK until at least 2022. It also emerged in Europe, in various iterations. The musical received mixed to positive reviews.
Here is a playlist for the Musical.
Or - here it is in Spanish (2+ hrs)
Here is a YouTube channel.
And here is ACT ONE (1 hr 13 min) -
Waitress 2015 musical Adrienne Shelley ACT ONE
In 2021, HBO made a documentary on the life of Adrienne Shelly, "Adrienne". Can't find it for yas, but here is the official trailer...
"Adrienne" 2021 HBO documentary trailer.
So, now you see why this subject was chosen for a post. The struggle innocence has against adversity.
Many of the films mentioned here have something in common. Of course, they variously share many different themes and motifs. But one thing that can be isolated is the subject, and trouble with, Trust. "How can I trust you when you don't hear me, since we are basically only talking to ourselves?"
"How can I trust you when the realities of life are so painful and ironic?"
"How can I trust you when I began my life basically as an abortion?"
The 1990's was a very interesting decade. It took us from the abstract, carefree, highfalutin' 1980's, to the tragedy of 9/11, and subsequent crashes of 2008 and 2023, generously peppered with mass shootings and weirder and weirder reality TV. Meanwhile, Henry Kissinger, the Club of Rome, the Trilateral Commission, the WEF, Soros, Pfizer, the DoD, the government and vile, dastardly politicians, were building a plan to ultimately exterminate most of the people on Earth, using shock doctrines and divide-and-conquer theatrics to do it.
Did we gradually lose trust, as a society, before this scheme played out, or because of it? Or were both, our psychology and the evil conspiracy, grown from the same soil, like the weather, emerging as a chaos out of larger, deeper changes - like growing debt?
We let ourselves get played.
In the yet-to-be written PART ONE of this little series, I will discuss all this more deeply. Unfortunately, I did write it out, but it all got deleted.
Now, here is one more clip, from the movie, "Trust," which is the real grabber. I saved it for last because I didn't want it to spoil your appetite for the other movie/s...
Trust (Hartley) falling clip.