Hal Hartley (born November 3, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and composer who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and ’90s. He made his feature directorial debut on The Unbelievable Truth (1989), with Adrienne Shelly, Robert John Burke, Christopher Cooke, Julia McNeal, Gary Sauer, Mark Bailey, David Healy, Katherine Mayfield, Edie Falco and Matt Malloy.
Films in the 1990s include Trust (1990), with Shelly, Martin Donovan, Merritt Nelson, Falco, and John MacKay; Surviving Desire (1991), with Donovan, Julie Kessler, Malloy, Nelson, and Mary B. Ward; Simple Men (1992), with Burke, Bill Sage, Karen Sillas, Elina Löwensohn, Donovan, and Holly Marie Combs; Amateur (1994), with Isabelle Huppert, Donovan, Löwensohn, and Damian Young; Flirt (1995), with Sage, Dwight Ewell, Miho Nikaido, Parker Posey, and Donovan; Henry Fool (1997), with Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Posey, Liam Aiken, James Saito, and Kevin Corrigan; and The Book of Life (1998), with Donovan, PJ Harvey, and Ryan.
Films in the 2000s include No Such Thing (2001), with Sarah Polley, Burke, Helen Mirren, Julie Christie, and Baltasar Kormákur; The Girl from Monday (2005), with Sage, Sabrina Lloyd, Tatiana Abracos, and Leo Fitzpatrick; Fay Grim (2006), with Posey, Urbaniak, Aiken, Jeff Goldblum, and Saffron Burrows; Meanwhile (2011), with D.J. Mendel, Danielle Meyer, and Pallavi Sastry: Ned Rifle (2014), with Aiken, Aubrey Plaza, Posey, Urbaniak, Ryan, Donovan, Sillas, Burke, and Sage, and Where to Land (2025), with Sage, Falco, Burke,
Gia Crovatin, Kathleen Chalfant, and Kim Taff.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Kid (1984) – short
- The Cartographer’s Girlfriend (1987) – short
- Dogs (1988) – short
- The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
- Trust (1990)
- Theory of Achievement (1991) – short
- Surviving Desire (1992)
- Ambition (1992) – short
- Simple Men (1992)
- Flirt (1993) – short
- Iris (1994) – short
- Amateur (1994)
- Opera No. 1 (1994) – short
- NYC 3/94 (1994) – short
- Flirt (1995)
- Henry Fool (1997)
- The Other Also (1997) – short
- The Book of Life (1998)
- Kimono (1999) – short
- The New Math(s) (2000) – short
- No Such Thing (2001)
- The Sisters of Mercy (2004) – short
- The Girl from Monday (2005)
- Fay Grim (2006)
- Implied Harmonies (2010) – short
- The Apologies (2010) – short
- Adventure (2010) – short
- Accomplice (2010) – short
- A/Muse (2010) – short
- Meanwhile (2011)
- La Commedia (2014) – filmed play
- Ned Rifle (2014)
- Where to Land (2025)
