Hal Hartley (born November 3, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and composer, who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and 1990s. He is best known for his films Trust, Amateur and Henry Fool, which are notable for deadpan humour and offbeat characters quoting philosophical dialogue. His films provided a career launch for a number of actors, including Adrienne Shelly, Edie Falco, Martin Donovan, Parker Posey, Karen Sillas and Elina Löwensohn. Hartley frequently scores his own films using his pseudonym Ned Rifle, and his soundtracks regularly feature music by indie rock acts Yo La Tengo and PJ Harvey. Description above from the Wikipedia article Hal Hartley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 3, 1959 (66)
- Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, USA
- Director, writer, composer, producer and editor, also actor
- 15 on MovieCove · 47 credits in all
Known for
What are Hal Hartley's films like?
Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 3 · Wry 6 · Earnest 5
A split, not a type: Light 7 · Serious 6 · Dark 1
Grounded 4 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 4
Gentle 5 · Charged 7 · Intense 2
Steady 9 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 1
Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 12 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 2
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 5
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet7
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous4
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Hal Hartley's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Hal Hartley's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
47 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Where to Land (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
El Planeta(2021)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
Ned Rifle(2014)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Red Oaks(2014)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
My America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
La Commedia(2014)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Current Events (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Meanwhile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Years Later: The Unbelievable Truth and Its Consequences (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
The Apologies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
A/Muse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Accomplice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Adventure(2010)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Implied Harmonies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Conspiracy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Fay Grim(2006)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
The Girl from Monday(2005)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
The Sisters of Mercy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Excerpts from Soon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Regarding Soon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Milk and Honey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
The Cloud of Unknowing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
No Such Thing(2001)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
The New Math(s) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Kimono (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
The Book of Life(1998)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Henry Fool(1997)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Eye of God(1997)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
The Other Also (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Flirt(1995)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
NYC 3/94 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Amateur(1994)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Iris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Opera No. 1 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Flirt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Simple Men(1992)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Ambition (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Surviving Desire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Theory of Achievement (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Trust(1990)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
The Unbelievable Truth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Dogs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
The Cartographer's Girlfriend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Home of the Brave: A Film by Laurie Anderson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
American Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Tour de France (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 47 titles, 46 of them dated from 1982 to 2025.
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Hal Hartley's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 61st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the atmosphere 62/100 and the pacing 42/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Hal Hartley work with?
People who share at least 2 of Hal Hartley's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Steve Hamilton shares the most, 7.
Actors
- James UrbaniakShared titles: Ned Rifle (2014), Fay Grim (2006), The Girl from Monday (2005), No Such Thing (2001), The Book of Life (1998), Henry Fool (1997)See all 6 shared titles with James Urbaniak
- Martin DonovanShared titles: Ned Rifle (2014), The Book of Life (1998), Flirt (1995), Amateur (1994), Simple Men (1992), Trust (1990)See all 6 shared titles with Martin Donovan
- Bill SageShared titles: Ned Rifle (2014), The Girl from Monday (2005), No Such Thing (2001), Flirt (1995), Simple Men (1992)See all 5 shared titles with Bill Sage
- Karen SillasShared titles: Ned Rifle (2014), Flirt (1995), Simple Men (1992), Trust (1990)See all 4 shared titles with Karen Sillas
Cinematographers and editors
- Steve HamiltonShared titles: The Girl from Monday (2005), No Such Thing (2001), The Book of Life (1998), Henry Fool (1997), Flirt (1995), Amateur (1994), Simple Men (1992)See all 7 shared titles with Steve Hamilton
- Michael SpillerShared titles: No Such Thing (2001), Henry Fool (1997), Flirt (1995), Amateur (1994), Simple Men (1992), Trust (1990)See all 6 shared titles with Michael Spiller
- Kyle GilmanShared titles: La Commedia (2014), Ned Rifle (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Kyle Gilman
- Vladimir SuboticShared titles: La Commedia (2014), Ned Rifle (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Vladimir Subotic
Producers
- Jerome BrownsteinShared titles: The Book of Life (1998), Henry Fool (1997), Flirt (1995), Amateur (1994), Simple Men (1992), Trust (1990)See all 6 shared titles with Jerome Brownstein
- Ted HopeShared titles: Fay Grim (2006), Flirt (1995), Amateur (1994), Simple Men (1992), Trust (1990)See all 5 shared titles with Ted Hope
- Matthew MyersShared titles: Ned Rifle (2014), The Book of Life (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Matthew Myers
- Martin HagemannShared titles: Fay Grim (2006), Flirt (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Martin Hagemann