SXSW Film Review: Ned Rifle (USA, 2014)

ned rifle

Ned Rifle is the final instalment in an American, satirical trilogy by writer and director, Hal Hartley. It fails to stand up as its own separate film and it is difficult for newcomers to follow (as Hartley gives little away and it has been so long between the release of this and the earlier instalments, Henry Fool and Fay Grim). Ned Rifle is ultimately a banal and unfunny dramedy that fails to cut through.

The story focuses on the youngest member of Queens’ Grim Family. The teen has assumed the name Ned Rifle (Liam Aiken) and has been living for years in witness protection with a family of devout Christians, which is headed by the Rev. Daniel Gardner (Martin Donovan). This humourless, chaste, religious devotee and adolescent is quick to anger and on the verge of leaving Witness Protection. He then decides to track down his father (Thomas Jay Ryan) in order to execute a revenge killing because of the pain and suffering the old man had inflicted on his wife, Fay Grim (Parker Posey).

Rifle is a young man filled with contradictions, not least because he is a Christian who is intent on murdering his dad. He travels to New York in order to find his father at a mental hospital. Along the way he encounters his poet laureate uncle (James Urbaniak) and the sexy but troubled student and academic, Susan Weber (Aubrey Plaza who is a stand-out). The latter is a femme fatale who has an ulterior motive for tagging along. One of the positives of this film is that there is no shortage of twists and surprises, especially in the unexpected finale.

Hartley’s film does suffer from a low budget aesthetic and an overbearing soundtrack (also by Hartley). The actual plot is slow and plodding with lots of the film dedicated to sanctimonious philosophy, banal naval gazing and verbose intellectual dialogue. It’s supposed to all be really clever and dark in its look at dysfunctional relationships and America’s obsession with violence, but instead it seems tedious and prosaic.

Ned Rifle requires a rather large suspension of disbelief at times as well as the viewer having to do their homework by having to watch the earlier instalments of the trilogy. This seems like an awful lot of work for very little pay off. In all, Ned Rifle is full of hollow and artificial performances, an absurd narrative and the bizarre, deadpan world that typifies Hartley’s work. In short, this film is either one to wait for on TV or for pure aficionados of Hartley’s oeuvre.

Review Score: ONE STAR (OUT OF FIVE)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Ned Rifle premiered at SXSW over the weekend – additional screenings will be held on March 18 and 20. For more information and tickets please visit: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2015/events/event_FS17873

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