People are voting emotionally.

Good concept, poorly executed.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

So bad it moved me to write my first IMDb review.There are plenty of talented amateur film makers, actors and directors out there, none of them were involved in this film. To say that the horribly stiff acting and poor writing and screen play is a "edgy style" that you don't get unless your hip is just a lazy cop-out. Hal Hartley is not a film maker, he's a dude with a camera and some friends wasting time. There have been much better high school plays. There really was no reason to make or see this movie, none.In the future I'll be more careful when choosing movies to watch based on IMDb ratings, especially those with less than a few thousand votes (just about all of Hal Hartley's movies). I should have read all of the reviews, not just the ones written by the cast and their friends.

Long Island auteur Hal Hartley writes, directs, and co-produces his first feature film. His second, "Trust," has more polish and a better reputation, but "The Unbelievable Truth" has plenty to recommend it. Hartley came onto the scene as kind of a Generation X independent film voice, and while the acting quality in this feature debut is more uneven than in subsequent efforts, his almost surreal approach to dialogue, situations, and characterization is intact right out of the gate.The story is of a man who comes back to his hometown after years in prison, and the young girl he meets once he gets there. As in "Trust," Hartley uses coincidences to underline the intersecting lives and fates of his characters, and his characterization emphasizes the random way in which so many of us foolishly let our hearts lead us around rather than our heads...although ultimately the day belongs to those who are able to conquer this tendency.While Hartley forcefully instructs his actors to play their lines totally deadpan as much as possible, the situations and character reactions lead to lots of uproarious laughs that will not be evident to many viewers if they're expecting sitcom-type humor, and the way his plots twist is a joy. For the sophisticated movie fan, Hartley's films are extremely interesting and a terrific exercise in watching a true original at work.

Clever Indy film-making at it's best!!! This film jump started a genre. Hal Hartley's masterpiece brims with clever dialogue and funny performances. Adrianne Shelley is a standout as Audrey who is convinced that the world is soon to blow up. Chris Cooke should be getting a lot more work after his winning performance as Vic Hugo. He's a delight to watch as his daughter Audrey bargains with him on about going to college. And Robert Burke is great as the quiet Josh, the returning man with a past. You catch something new every time with this film ... like the funny way everyone fights in the movie (elaborate pushing matches). An original film and thoroughly enjoyable. Great soundtrack too ... under Hal Hartley's alias of Ned Rifle. Highly recommended ... and definitely more than worth than 50¢ at your video rental and won't put you to sleep if you like original, clever, landmark Indy films like this one is.

One of my (maybe even "the") all time favorite movies.A film about some average people, basically. Maybe a bit weird, some of those people, but that's how people are, if you look closely. What makes it so rewatchable for me are the wonderful dialogues and the wonderful characters. They feel so true.IMHO, the very tight budget and schedule helped this movie become so good. It is so... concise. Hardly a word or scene wasted.If you like movies by Jim Jarmusch or Richard Linklater, you might like this one, too.