Performance in the Cinema of Hal Hartley By Steven Rawle

Repetition is referenced throughout, but it does not form a substantial part of the theoretical framework of the book. I have considered this elsewhere, however,⁶⁵ and this issue has also been explored by Wise and Deer in their work on Hartley. Second, there is no sustained exploration of key themes in Hartley’s work, such as Catholicism. Some may see this as a stabilizing thread that runs throughout his work; nevertheless, it lies beyond the scope of this particular book. The intention of this particular project has been to engage with performance studies in cinema that have long struggled to come to grips with the physicality and materiality of the body and voice on-screen, beyond those emphases mentioned at the outset. The challenge to other scholars and critics is to extend this book’s exploration of Hal Hartley further. If Hal Hartley represents an important moment, and subsequent shift, as I believe, in the conceptualization of independent filmmaking in the 1990s and 2000s, then much work remains to be done on Hartley’s films beyond my argument here.