Theory of Achievement

Theory of Achievement, a short film by director Hal Hartley, is a droll look at a group of young Brooklynites grappling with the great issues: aesthetics, romance, and real estate. Bob, a broke, aspiring writer, takes advantage of his girlfriend's absence to enter the real estate business. He ...more

After the turn of the 21st century, a young artist living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn might wonder at Hal Hartley's prophetic short, Theory of Achievement. Other than a smokestack along the Brooklyn-Queens expressway backdropped by a green-domed church, however, the film refrains from showing much of Williamsburg. Instead, there are tight shots in close quarters of white-walled apartments and anonymous diners, with intermittent persuasions by a young real estate agent of Brooklyn's inherent ...more