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IMDbPro

The Unbelievable Truth

  • 1989
  • R
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
5.8K
YOUR RATING
Robert John Burke and Adrienne Shelly in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
ComedyDramaRomance

A man returns to his home town after serving a prison sentence for homicide, and finds that the details of the crime have been forgotten and replaced with local legends and rumors.A man returns to his home town after serving a prison sentence for homicide, and finds that the details of the crime have been forgotten and replaced with local legends and rumors.A man returns to his home town after serving a prison sentence for homicide, and finds that the details of the crime have been forgotten and replaced with local legends and rumors.

  • Director
    • Hal Hartley
  • Writer
    • Hal Hartley
  • Stars
    • Adrienne Shelly
    • Robert John Burke
    • Chris Cooke
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    5.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Hal Hartley
    • Writer
      • Hal Hartley
    • Stars
      • Adrienne Shelly
      • Robert John Burke
      • Chris Cooke
    • 31User reviews
    • 35Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Photos69

    The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Robert John Burke and Adrienne Shelly in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Robert John Burke and Adrienne Shelly in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Chris Cooke, Julia McNeal, and Adrienne Shelly in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Julia McNeal in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Julia McNeal in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Edie Falco and Gary Sauer in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Matt Malloy in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Robert John Burke and Matt Malloy in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
    Robert John Burke in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Adrienne Shelly
    Adrienne Shelly
    • Audry
    Robert John Burke
    Robert John Burke
    • Josh
    • (as Robert Burke)
    Chris Cooke
    Chris Cooke
    • Vic Hugo
    • (as Christopher Cooke)
    Julia McNeal
    Julia McNeal
    • Pearl
    Katherine Mayfield
    • Liz Hugo
    Gary Sauer
    Gary Sauer
    • Emmet
    Mark Chandler Bailey
    Mark Chandler Bailey
    • Mike
    • (as Mark Bailey)
    David Healy
    David Healy
    • Todd Whitbread
    Matt Malloy
    Matt Malloy
    • Otis: Driver - Bum
    Edie Falco
    Edie Falco
    • Jane - The Waitress
    Jeff Howard
    Jeff Howard
    • Irate Driver
    Kelly Reichardt
    Kelly Reichardt
    • His Wife
    Ross Turner
    • Their Son
    Paul Schulze
    Paul Schulze
    • Bill
    • (as Paul Schultze)
    Mike Brady
    • Bob
    Bill Sage
    Bill Sage
    • Gus
    Tom Thon
    Tom Thon
    • News Vendor
    Mary Sue Flynn
    • Girl at Counter
    • Director
      • Hal Hartley
    • Writer
      • Hal Hartley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Filmed in just 11 days.
    • Goofs
      When Audry and Emmet are walking in the street rite after Audry tells Emmet she does not want to go out with him anymore if you look behind Audry you can see a car approach the corner and a crew member directing the car to turn left so it does not interfere with the shot, the crew member even walks up to the car.
    • 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.

    • Crazy credits
      Director's Friend......Steven O'Connor
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Freshman/The Jungle Book/Navy SEALs/The Unbelievable Truth/How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Cruel Something There
      by Paul Cullum and Philip Reed (as Wild Blue Yonder) (uncredited)

    User reviews31

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    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.
    helpful•7
    1
    • gpadillo
    • Jan 5, 2004

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 8, 1990 (Australia)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Verdacht auf Liebe
    • Filming locations
      • Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • Action Features
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $75,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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    Robert John Burke and Adrienne Shelly in The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
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