Simple Men (1992)

Bitter about being double-crossed by the women he loved, (and with the police after him to boot), Bill vows to seduce the next woman he sees, then throw her away. His brother Dennis, ... See full summary »

Director:

Hal Hartley

Writer:

Hal Hartley

Stars:

Robert John Burke, Bill Sage, Martin Donovan

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert John Burke	...	Bill McCabe (as Robert Burke)
Bill Sage	...	Dennis McCabe
Karen Sillas	...	Kate
Elina Löwensohn	...	Elina
Martin Donovan	...	Martin
Mark Chandler Bailey	...	Mike (as Mark Bailey)
Chris Cooke	...	Vic
Jeffrey Howard	...	Ned Rifle
Holly Marie Combs	...	Kim
Joe Stevens	...	Jack
Damian Young	...	Sheriff
Marietta Marich	...	Mom (Meg)
John MacKay	...	Dad
Bethany Wright	...	Mary
Richard Reyes	...	Security Guard

Storyline

Bitter about being double-crossed by the women he loved, (and with the police after him to boot), Bill vows to seduce the next woman he sees, then throw her away. His brother Dennis, meanwhile, is equally determined to track down their long lost father, a revolutionary who has been in hiding for 20 years. For different reasons, both leave New York and head for Long Island, out of money, and short on ideas. D:"Long Island is a a terminal moraine." B:"What's that?" D:"It's the material left behind when a glacier recedes." D:"Gee, then what the hell are we waiting for?"

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Plot Keywords:

the madison dance | tree planting | held at gunpoint | nun smoking | telephone booth | 

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Taglines:

There's no such thing as adventure and romance, only trouble and desire.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

Italy UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1992 (UK)

Also Known As:

Simple Men

Filming Locations:

Seabrook, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$141,554

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$143,010

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Playhouse, Channel Four Films, Fine Line Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"There's no such thing as adventure. There's no such thing as romance. There's only trouble and desire." It's probably the best-known phrase of this movie, but actually it's a quote from Fritz Lang's movie Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922).

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Quotes

Dennis McCabe: I know he's a man of his word. I know he believes in things.
Elina: He's a womanizer.
Dennis McCabe: Yea, well, ah, he wouldn't leave a woman as attractive as yourself behind.
Elina: You're a womanizer too, then.

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Connections

Referenced in In a Savage Land: Cast and Crew Interviews (2001)

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Soundtracks

Kool Thing
Written and Performed by Sonic Youth
Published by Savage Conquest Music, BMI
Sonic Youth appears courtesy of DGC records

User Reviews

A Simple Joy

Hartley has here created a near masterpiece; a wonderful, autumnally atmospheric and deeply human film. The usual quirks are there (the cyclical dialogues, the silences) but it is imbued with a warmth and love that makes the film unmissable. The fragile nature of relationships comes under the directors scrutiny as two brothers spend a couple of days in Long Island. The all night drinking scene complete with a dance routine to Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing" captures that dusk to dawn and too much Jack Daniels feel as well as any film I have ever seen. But, it is the closing scene which clinches it, a heart stoppingly romantic yet equally depressing end which asserts that through the pains of life, through the "trouble and desire" there is always a belief in other people that can keep us going. Life affirming (without being a saccharine "feel good" movie) and truly wonderful