it is as philosophical, political and pornographic as Henry describes his own work to be - an expansive comic book 'novel of ideas' all at once provocative and funny, which will come to be regarded as Hartley's life work.

You watch, you are absorbed, and from scene to scene, Henry Fool seems to be adding up, but then your hand closes on air. I am left unsure of my response -- of any response.

Embracing Hartley's motifs, such as the vicissitudes of fame and fate, the film is sharply uneven, meditative and touching in moments but also pretentious and overlong; it's the last decent movie Hartley has made.

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