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 | hiding | sheriff | psychotic | 

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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:

Begär, besvär och enkla män

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

Ned: Listen, Dennis. Let me tell you something about the law. The law is just a contract. A contract between the rich people who own everything, and the poor people who want to take it away. And the contract says, if you break the law and get away with it fine. But if you break the rules and get caught you got to play by the rules and pay the price. It's no big moral thing, you don't need ideology to knock off a liquor store.

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Connections

References Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922)

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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

Oh the characters!

What would Hal Hartley's movies be without the eccentric characters? Here is the ex-baseball player hiding in a boat quoting Proudhon to a religiously following Romanian epilectic girl less than half his age that definitely has her own way of dancing to Sonic Youth. Referencing here and there, many lost on me I guess, but the way everything is downplayed makes it so funny at times.

Hal Hartly is so good in casting. I think I liked every actor and actress he has chosen. Here, Elina Lövensohn shines, Karen Sillas is so natural and Robert John Burke is highly dramatic, like he was as the monster in 'No Such Thing'. The rest is seriously deadpan, which is a good thing.