The son (Liam Aiken) of Henry Fool and Fay Grim sets out to kill his father for ruining his mother's life. But his aims are frustrated by the troublesome Susan, whose connection to Henry predates even his arrival in the lives of the Grim family.
At its worst, "Ned Rifle" is a self-involved movie about self-involved people. When it clicks, though, we're in a pared-down moral universe that carries unsettling echoes of our own.
[It] might not sound entertaining, yet when the writer-director is on his game, as he is in "Ned Rifle," the effect is bizarre black comedy that is designed to set you thinking about what his satire is really saying.
Smart writing and committed actors make up for the microscopic budget. You don't need to have seen the previous two films to enjoy "Ned Rifle," but it definitely helps.
It's as close to an adding-up as can be expected from any thrifty trilogy spread out over three decades, but surely a testament to enduring indie integrity.
Hartley is at his Hartleyest here, meaning, among other things, that a fair chunk of the dialogue sounds like a pronouncement, aimed as much at the viewer as it is at another character.
