TIFF Review: Hal Hartley's 'Ned Rifle' Starring Liam Aiken, Aubrey Plaza, Martin Donovan, Parker Posey & More

By this point, you're either a Hal Hartley devotee, or you're not. The fiercely independent filmmaker established his unique voice on films like "Trust," "Flirt," and "The Unbelievable Truth," and forged an offbeat indie genre unto himself (though it’s never been in vogue). And for most of his career, Hartley’s stayed far away from the studio system (2001's underrated "No Such Thing" being an exception). In 1997, the filmmaker arguably reached the peak of his critical acclaim with "Henry Fool," walking away from the Cannes Film Festival with a Best Screenplay award. It was perhaps the sharpest, most hilarious representation of the filmmaker's distinctly offbeat aesthetics—his deadpan tone, the arch theatrically heightened mise en scene—and he wasn't done with those characters and that world. Nine years later he returned with the sequel "Fay Grim," a far less successful effort (though one that's actually underrated). And eight...