Henry Fool (1997)

Socially inept garbage man Simon is befriended by Henry Fool, a witty roguish, but talent-less novelist. Henry opens a magical world of literature to Simon who turns his hand to writing the... See full summary »

Director:

Hal Hartley

Stars:

Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thomas Jay Ryan	...	Henry Fool
James Urbaniak	...	Simon Grim
Parker Posey	...	Fay Grim
Maria Porter	...	Mary
James Saito	...	Mr. Deng
Kevin Corrigan	...	Warren
Liam Aiken	...	Ned
Miho Nikaido	...	Gnoc Deng
Gene Ruffini	...	Officer Buñuel
Nicholas Hope	...	Father Hawkes
Diana Ruppe	...	Amy
Veanne Cox	...	Laura
Jan Leslie Harding	...	Vicky
Chaylee Worrall	...	Pearl (age 7)
Christy Romano	...	Pearl - Age 14

Storyline

Socially inept garbage man Simon is befriended by Henry Fool, a witty roguish, but talent-less novelist. Henry opens a magical world of literature to Simon who turns his hand to writing the 'great American poem'. As Simon begins his controversial ascent to the dizzying heights of Nobel Prize winning poet, Henry sinks to a life of drinking in low-life bars. The two friends fall out and lose touch until Henry's criminal past catches up with him and he needs Simon's help to flee the country.

---

Plot Keywords:

poem | poet | drinking | nobel prize | basement apartment | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Confissões de Henry Fool

Filming Locations:

Elmhurst Hospital, Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$40,939 (USA) (19 June 1998)

Gross:

$1,334,786 (USA) (6 November 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shooting Gallery, True Fiction Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Henry Fool: Only someone who really cares doubts.

---

Crazy Credits

Grip Dog - Edie

---

Connections

Referenced in Lonesome Jim (2005)

User Reviews

News of the whirl

Proof that famously idiosyncratic filmmaker Hal Hartley can expand the emotional and intellectual range of his often dismayingly bloodless work without compromising the skewed, life on the fringes vision that has built him a cult following. This resonant examination of friendship, fame, cultural trends, and the creative process, stars a garbage man and a mysterious bum. James Urbaniak is the socially challenged trash hauler -Simon Grim who lives with his severely depressed mother and slutty, acerbic sister in a cramped in Queens, N.Y. Thomas Jay Ryan is Henry Fool, the drinking drifter who moves into their basement, claiming to be a writer whose unpublished epic manuscript would shake of the world - if Henry ever allowed it to be published. (In fact he's talent free.) But it's Simon who becomes the literary star. Encouraged by his new friend, the trashman who never wrote before, turns out to be a natural poet, moving (and outraging) the public with the power of his words. The director packs a lot of tender heartache into the Grim household, and he presses his finger firmly on the bruised place in America where celebrity becomes its own curse. (In a great conceit, we never see of hear a word of Simon's masterpiece.) Hartley remains an acquired taste (for views with a lot of time to dine - this sitting runs about two hours and twenty minutes). But with "Henry Fool" he offers a lot to chew on.