Deniz Ziya Toroslu The biggest problem of the movie is that the movie has no effect at all which I recently learned that they call it deadpan. The reactions of the characters are extremely soulless. The movie is not humorous because of those except the famous dance scene and the guy who helps Kate. This short part is the only interesting part and the guy is the only acceptable character of the movie, as said, all the other characters are too emotionless. This cannot be explained by nihilism or Godard's 'anti-cinema' style. Simple Men is not a road movie, despite the main story is that two brothers leave the city to find their father. I had expected an interesting and colorful road movie, at least a movie. There is an emptiness feeling throughout the movie, so if you expect any kind of dramatic or stunning material, you disappoint seriously. Again because of this deadpan style of the director, no art, no entertainment. Cinematography is just OK, but owing to the problems mentioned above, finally the film is lack of an impressive cinema experience. The director puts up a solid wall between the movie and audiences, I don't mean catharsis or I don't mean empathy, these are not must, but this wall makes the movie distasteful and soulless. Some people complain about acting in the movie, but acting was not weak, there is no problem with acting, it was plausible. The thing makes them think like that is probably deadpan that the director likes. By the way, Simple Men is not predictable, but does not include any twist or surprise.

endymion82 This was my second Hal Hartley film, and the one that made me go out and rent everything else he's ever made. After FLIRT, this is my favorite (I know, TRUST fans are getting angry at me right now) of Hartley's works. Maybe it's because, like FLIRT, I relate very strongly to these people: their intelligence, their fears, their lifestyles and concerns, their triumphs all seem so real to me, and yet rendered in that unique Hartley style that I've come to love so, and ultimately see as a very romantic vision of the normal world. Karen Sillas gives a performance that's a lesson in subtlety, and Robert Burke is brilliantly passionate and cynical at the same time. Elina Lowhenson, William Mackay and Bill Sage are all great too, and each has one or two splendid moments, but Martin Donnavin (no surprise) and Damien Heath steal the movie. The best part is, however, the end. Like FLIRT, it was so subtle, so smart, and so genuine, that it brought tears to my eyes.

Dickles-2 On first viewing, I could have sworn this was a Sam Shepard play. It has the short lilting dialogue for much of the film and sounds as though it were written for the stage. It is directed very much in that fashion and is a fascinating, captivating set of performances...understated and full of deeper meanings that don't shout at you in the more typical "Hollywood" tradition!

asia-3 This movie is amazing. In a lot of ways it is an extremely painful movie to watch, watching people create their own destruction, watching the action play out a certain inevitability. But it's different also from a lot of stories, in that this kind of arc does not just continue on to its logical conclusion. The characters do not simply hurtle forth, but are always capable of thinking, changing. Really, really good.