Handsome Harry (2009)

74% of critics liked it
(23 reviews)
54% of users liked it
(279 ratings)

A man seeking to escape the past realizes that he'll first have to confront the present after receiving a desperate call from a friend on his deathbed. Harry Sweeny (Jamey Sheridan) is an aged but handsome divorcée with a grown son and a small business. He lives a comfortable life in a small town,… More A man seeking to escape the past realizes that he'll first have to confront the present after receiving a desperate call from a friend on his deathbed. Harry Sweeny (Jamey Sheridan) is an aged but handsome divorcée with a grown son and a small business. He lives a comfortable life in a small town, where his main source of entertainment is stopping by the local diner to flirt with pretty waitress Muriel (Karen Young). But Harry's life hasn't always been this easy, and after getting a call from Tom Kelly (Steve Buscemi) he starts to remember why. Tom isn't long for this earth, and before he goes he seeks forgiveness from David Kagan, a fellow crewman that he and Harry knew from their Navy days. Unable to say no to an old friend, Harry sets out on a reluctant search for David, visiting old friends and drudging up painful memories in the process. Why does Tom feel like he needs David's forgiveness to pass on, and whose redemption is Harry searching for anyway? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Bette Gordon
Written By: Nicholas T. Proferes
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Apr 16, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Dec 28, 2010
Studio: Screen Media Ventures

Critic Reviews

Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail
Handsome Harry is a small film with more to say than its creaky exposition and formulaic plot would suggest. Frustration is perhaps the more appropriate critical response.
Luke Sader, Hollywood Reporter
Sheridan (who also produced) is well cast as the good-looking, rugged Harry, and his performance is certainly adequate.
David Edelstein, New York Magazine
David has honed this script for 30 years, and every word he utters is momentous. Handsome Harry transcends its somewhat melodramatic narrative.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Each of its miserable characters, especially Mr. Savage's Rheems, is a case study in a film that hits you like a strident polemical essay.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
The story quietly builds to a rueful and fraught climax in which Campbell Scott does his usual exceptional work, while Harry absorbs some hard lessons.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Gordon's way with actors and with screen storytelling is as impeccable as ever.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...works best as an actor's showcase...
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
Handsome Harry seems a bit obvious at times (and a little clunky at others) but the performances, particularly from Jamey Sheridan, will keep you watching.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
I don't think Clint Eastwood would cast himself as a gay man, but it's easy to imagine an alternate movie universe in which Eastwood not only plays the title role but is the director of this earnest yet unstrident drama...
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Like any low-budget production, Handsome Harry has some shakily staged scenes and erratic acting, but it also has wonderful moments...
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Even with its forced dialogue and dramatically artificial set pieces, "Handsome Harry" has a certain integrity--thanks primarily to Jamey Sheridan's committed performance--that keeps you involved.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Bette Gordon's film is that rarity these days, an American film which deals with mature characters facing life and the choices they've made, possessed of uncommon intelligence and subtlety.
Fr. Chris Carpenter, Movie Dearest
A unique story of love and regret...Exquisitely acted by an exceptional cast.
Alonso Duralde, Queer Sighted
Gay audiences -- and probably straight ones -- will see the twists coming from a mile away, but a cast this strong makes the trip worth taking anyway.
Marshall Fine, Hollywood & Fine
While it jumps the rails at a couple of different points dramatically, Handsome Harry keeps winning you back because of Jamey Sheridan's performance.
Michelle Orange, L.A. Weekly
In Gordon's films, eros' capacity to disturb and disrupt is celebrated as its greatest quality.
Eric Hynes, Time Out New York
"We became men together," one character says."It must count for something." Unfortunately, Gordon asks that notion to count for everything without adding much to the conversation.
Armond White, New York Press
Director Bette Gordon presents the actors' sensitivity with tactful insight and appreciation reminiscent of Katherine Dieckmann's very fine Diggers.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

An interesting story. Acting is good, but the storyline isn't the most exciting. Decent, but seems to drag on, and on. Heavy-hearted ending.
jay n

Interesting low key drama of a man in middle age forced to confront a shameful error in his distant past and try to make amends if possible. While it doesn't totally succeed and it's focus is sometimes off kilter the film still manages to entertain. Part of the reason why… More
Interesting low key drama of a man in middle age forced to confront a shameful error in his distant past and try to make amends if possible. While it doesn't totally succeed and it's focus is sometimes off kilter the film still manages to entertain. Part of the reason why lies in the fact that for a small indie this has quite an impressive cast of higher profile quality actors, albeit that most appear briefly, than is usual in this type of film.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Cast: Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Mariann Mayberry, Aidan Quinn, John Savage, Campbell Scott, Titus Welliver, Karen Young, Bill Sage, Asher Grodman Director: Bette Gordon Summary: For many years, small-town resident Harry Sweeney (Jamey Sheridan) has avoided confronting… More
Cast: Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Mariann Mayberry, Aidan Quinn, John Savage, Campbell Scott, Titus Welliver, Karen Young, Bill Sage, Asher Grodman Director: Bette Gordon Summary: For many years, small-town resident Harry Sweeney (Jamey Sheridan) has avoided confronting painful memories from his past. But when his best friend becomes seriously ill, Harry builds up enough courage to explore long-hidden secrets and uncover his true identity. My Thoughts: "This is a slow burning film where the story unravels throughout the entirety of the film. The story is a bitter-sweet tale, some of it being of forbidden love and heart break, and the other of forgiveness for a horrendous act of violence. The ending is a quiet but heavy. Jamey Sheridan does great in this film. Definitely worth the watch."
Walter M

Well into middle age, Harry Sweeney(Jamey Sheridan) is doing well for himself in his business as an electrician and has no plans to retire soon. Thomas Kelley(Steve Buscemi), an old pal from the navy who he has not talked to in 30 years, is not quite so lucky, as he lies dying in a… More
Well into middle age, Harry Sweeney(Jamey Sheridan) is doing well for himself in his business as an electrician and has no plans to retire soon. Thomas Kelley(Steve Buscemi), an old pal from the navy who he has not talked to in 30 years, is not quite so lucky, as he lies dying in a hospital bed. Before he goes, he wants to apologize to a former crewmate, Kagan, of theirs who along with three others they brutally beat. But Kelley dies before he can locate him, leaving the task to Harry with a little help from Kelley's daughter(Emily Donahue) who provides him with her research. First stop, Peter Rheems(John Savage), another former crewmate. "Handsome Harry" is a low-key and meditative movie that is helped by a relaxed lead performance from Jamey Sheridan, along with a very good supporting cast that also includes Aidan Quinn, Campbell Scott and Titus Welliver. All of which is in the service of a story that seeks to explore the nature of forgiveness from an occasionally religious angle.(Harry confesses he wanted to be a priest at one point.) In short, are there some acts that cannot be forgiven? In any case, can we forgive ourselves or does guilt take over at some point? At one time, macho attitudes would not have allowed men to ask these questions of themselves but times are changing. So what may once have been impossible is now possible.