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Title: One of Hal Hartley's best
Review: Along with Simple Men and Surviving Desire, the Unbelievable Truth is one of Hartley's best films. Firmly entrenched in the 80s when it was made, this lightweight comic romance has a lead character of the wonderful Adrienne Shelley (RIP) as a young woman who negotiates college versus work deals with her parents while believing the world is going to end via nuclear disaster at any moment. Into this comes the hero, Robert Burke in his gorgeous youth, as a newly released prisoner coming back to his hometown. The script is brainy banter and just walks the fine line between stage and actual people, which is one of Hartley's best talents. The earlier films like this one (pre Amateur, for instance) still have a light touch with the dark edge instead of the dark edge with blacker humor like the later films: for fun, romantic, cynical college-educated Hal Hartley, watch this.
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