The Unbelievable Truth (1989)

After serving time for murder, Josh Hutton returns to his home town where me meets Audry Hugo. No one can remember exactly what Josh did, but they are all wary of him, especially Audry's ... See full summary »

Director:

Hal Hartley

Stars:

Adrienne Shelly, Robert John Burke, Chris Cooke

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adrienne Shelly	...	Audry
Robert John Burke	...	Josh (as Robert Burke)
Chris Cooke	...	Vic Hugo (as Christopher Cooke)
Julia McNeal	...	Pearl
Katherine Mayfield	...	Liz Hugo
Gary Sauer	...	Emmet
Mark Chandler Bailey	...	Mike (as Mark Bailey)
David Healy	...	Todd Whitbread
Matt Malloy	...	Otis: Driver - Bum
Edie Falco	...	Jane - The Waitress
Jeff Howard	...	Irate Driver
Kelly Reichardt	...	His Wife
Ross Turner	...	Their Son
Paul Schulze	...	Bill (as Paul Schultze)
Mike Brady	...	Bob

Storyline

After serving time for murder, Josh Hutton returns to his home town where me meets Audry Hugo. No one can remember exactly what Josh did, but they are all wary of him, especially Audry's father.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | prison | mechanic | justice | camera | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 1990 (Australia)

Also Known As:

A Incrível Verdade

Filming Locations:

Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$546,541 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Action Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in just 11 days.

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Quotes

Josh Hutton: The last time I took a drink, I got into a car crash and I killed a girl.
Otis: No!
Josh Hutton: Yeah.
Otis: That's enough to drive you to drink.

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Connections

References Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988)

User Reviews

Early Hartley Worth the Effort

Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.

Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)

As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.

The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).

Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.