No Such Thing

Name: No Such Thing
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Comedy
Released: March 29, 2002
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 36
Cast: Robert John Burke, Sarah Polley

2002

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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No Such Thing

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Movie Details & Credits

MGM/UA Home Entertainment | Release Date: March 29, 2002 | TV-14

Starring: Robert John Burke, Sarah Polley

Summary: Writer-Director Hal Hartley takes a humorous and satirical look at a society concerned only with instant gratification and voyeuristic sensationalism. (MGM)

Director: Hal Hartley

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Comedy

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

Ann Hornaday

The movie is not exactly an upper, but Hartley fans won't want to miss the latest creation of this consistently intelligent director. Read full review

Edward Guthmann

An uneasy mixture of tragedy, satire, monster yarn and David Cronenberg creepiness, No Such Thing can't decide what it wants to be or how it needs to get there. Read full review

Keith Phipps

Hartley's most ambitious film, but it's also among his most uneven, shifting away at moments when its characters should be allowed to connect, underemphasizing some themes, overemphasizing others, and letting a general clash of ideas stand in for momentum. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

Hartley is trapped between sincerity and mock sincerity, and that all but dooms a filmmaker to slipping through the cracks. Read full review

Peter Travers

Does he (Hartley) succeed? Not with a movie this plodding, peevish and gimmicky. Is it fun to watch him try? Me, I'll take failed ambition over hack efficiency any day. Read full review

Mark Holcomb

Thematic muddle aside, the film's appeal lies in Burke's ranting charisma, Julie Christie's thankless turn as a sympathetic doctor, and Michael Spiller's radiant cinematography, which frequently captures the mythic grandeur that eludes Hartley's narrative grasp. Read full review

Derek Elley

Deadly dull in stretches, and just plain embarrassing in others. Read full review

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User Reviews

OneVoice

Nov 28, 2012

This is possibly my favorite movie ever. It's not for everyone, but if you like unique, intelligent, creative, engaging films you better not pass up on this one. Don't go into it with expectations of some Hollywood-esqe experience, this is a very different creature. I almost never watchThis is possibly my favorite movie ever. It's not for everyone, but if you like unique, intelligent, creative, engaging films you better not pass up on this one. Don't go into it with expectations of some Hollywood-esqe experience, this is a very different creature. I almost never watch movies more than once, but I have a desire to watch this movie pretty much annually. If you like this movie, check out other films by Hal Hartley (Henry Fool, Book of Life, etc). I've never seen one I haven't been impressed with.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

ChadS.

Apr 12, 2007

When Beatrice(Sarah Polley) encounters The Monster(Robert John Burke), "No Such Thing" starts to bear a faint resemblance to "King Kong"(maybe this is a retelling from the avant-garde perspective). If the ape was in a play, he'd be mumbling solioquies, too. As The Monster expresses his When Beatrice(Sarah Polley) encounters The Monster(Robert John Burke), "No Such Thing" starts to bear a faint resemblance to "King Kong"(maybe this is a retelling from the avant-garde perspective). If the ape was in a play, he'd be mumbling solioquies, too. As The Monster expresses his loneliness and despair to Beatrice(who is there to search for her fiance), it occured to me that this might be a literal translation of Kong's roaring(maybe Kong was in anguish about being the last of his kind, too). Like the RKO film, a woman is delivered to the beast as a peace offering by the natives(and also, the woman reaches her destination by boat, albeit by a more convoluted manner). For most viewers, "No Such Thing" goes off the rails when Beatrice returns home with The Monster; the change in tone(from sobering to bubbly) is abrupt and jarring to even the most adventurous cineaste. Inexplicably, Beatrice undergoes a personality change; she wears provocative clothing and jumps into bed too easily with strange men, which is a drastic change from the nice girl(bookish, chaste) image we previously had of her. This is a stretch, but let's consider that in "King Kong", the giant ape was the spectacle(he was put on exhibition by his captors); in "No Such Thing", the girl is put on display(Polley wears a push-up bra and dominatrix clothing). When the monster gets loose in the city, it's the people who do the pummeling. In the final scene of "No Such Thing"(the monster's death), there's another inversion of a "Kong" plotpoint; the giant ape who climbs the building and stands at the apex of New York City with Fay Wray(or Jessica Lange, or Naomi Watts) in his hand. This filmmaker made me realize for the first time that the giant ape was probably trying to commit suicide. Was this obvious to everybody but me? Kong wanted to die with his beloved prize, but he changed his mind and set the girl down. "No Such Thing" fails as an entertainment(and fails as art), but if you consider the filmmaker's oeuvre, attention must be paid to the madness(too much time is spent on Beatrice's rehab) because there just might be a method(or not).… Expand

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