Legendary French actor Isabelle Huppert landed the leading role in Amateur by writing a letter begging cult American writer-director Hal Hartley (Trust, Henry Fool) to cast her in his next film. Hartley responded by writing the character of “Isabelle” for Huppert to play; an ex-nun who now writes pornography, and who meets amnesiac Thomas (Martin Donovan) at a cafe: together they attempt to uncover Thomas’s elusive past. Full of witty dialogue (“How can you be a nymphomaniac and never’ve had sex?” “I’m choosy”) delivered in Hartley’s trademark deadpan style, featuring a cream-of-the-nineties soundtrack (My Bloody Valentine, PJ Harvey, Pavement, Liz Phair and more) and more than a few nods to Jean-Luc Godard, Amateur is a great introduction to the Hartley-verse.
Tuesday 3rd September
105 min
M
Retrospective
