As I watched this, I thought it was funny, kind of. Strong hint on the kind of. Oh my god, the acting was terrible. It was so bad...which disappointed me, as Hal Hartley is big on the whole condition acting- using physical ailments to change how one acts. I've used his method while doing a monologue from Schindler's List and my teacher said it was one of the most powerful monologues done by a student that he's seen- and that was the first time he suggested a Hal Hartley method. So I was expecting Surviving Desire to have exquisite acting. And when Martin Donovan opened his mouth, and twisted his face into what was supposed to be a pained or deep or spaced out expression, I laughed out loud and my teacher glared at me. But man, he was absolutely Oscar winning compared to everybody else (save the woman who kept asking everyone to marry her- she wasn't too bad). While he and the girl had a lot of chemistry, it just didn't...work. I don't know what was missing. I think she was just too much of a hot shot for him.
And I know the story was trying to be deep but it just didn't get there for me. It seemed to be forcing it on me.
And I know the story was trying to be deep but it just didn't get there for me. It seemed to be forcing it on me.