SummaryA comedy of errors surrounding a beautiful college bound girl disturbingly preoccupied with the threat of nuclear destruction. Nevertheless, she falls in love with a handsome ex-con who is rumored to have murdered, many years before, the father of his high school sweetheart. (Possible Films)
Directed By:Hal Hartley
Written By:Hal Hartley
The Unbelievable Truth
Metascore
Generally Favorable
67
User score
Generally Favorable
6.3
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
71% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
29% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
88
The Unbelievable Truth captivates with its committedly off-center vision of suburban angst.
80
The unbelievable truth about The Unbelievable Truth is that this offbeat, accomplished darkish comedy is the feature film debut of its writer-director-editor-producer Hal Hartley, and lead actors Adrienne Shelly and Robert Burke.
75
What makes the film fun is the deadpan, tongue-in-cheek humor that undermines the seemingly sincere dramatic scenes.
70
The Unbelievable Truth is a promising, reasonably engaging first feature of the art school film variety. Very consciously designed and stylized in all departments, pic has a minor-key feel to it.
63
The Unbelievable Truth is just that - epistemology served up with pop panache and a comic twist. [27 Jul 1990]
58
Hartley is grasping at, and only fitfully achieving, an overall tone of mordancy - formally called "black humor" - rather than believability. [25 Oct 1990]
50
While Hartley, who made this movie on a shoestring budget, has avant on his mind, he's not nuanced enough to quite pull it off. [03 Aug 1990]
User score
Generally Favorable
67% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
22% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
11% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Dec 15, 2023
10
Hal Hartley is so underrated. His films are really extraordinary. There's just this wonderful beauty about the minimalism, the story. Hal Hartley has such a unique way of presenting his ideas. And the actors love it because they're in all his movies. It's a shame he did not get more exposure. But all of the range of films that he makes are really truly wonderful to watch. I'm going to be riding this saying review on all the movies because watching them is not just about one film. Because they all tell a story of his style. That's why I have a list of films, a folder of films based on directors because they are the real storytellers and have a style that is so amazing to present an idea. So watch all of his movies and enjoy the uniqueness. There will be some reviews that may be specific but just watch any of all films and have fun with them. They are really unique and beautiful.
May 28, 2022
7
This is a quirky, arty, coming of age type film. Its I suppose a bit typical of such films about people resettling into a smallish rural town following time spent elsewhere. I've seen similar films I think. It has a fairly authentic feel to it, which I liked. The cast do pretty well I thought. Its somewhat thought provoking I suppose. Yes, I'd recommend this film - its a little slow and may bore some but its thoughtful and still felt intriguing enough to keep my attention. The pissed off/frustrated father character did make me laugh a bit.
