If you want to tap into financing for that film you dream of making, try Iceland. That's what writer/director
Hal Hartley has done with
No Such Thing. Problem is he didn't tap into anything else like suspense, wit, humor, notable performances, engaging characters, story or whatever it takes to keep us happy or horrified in our seats. Beyond financing,
Hartley does, however, tap admirably into his other Iceland resources by setting and shooting most of his story--a New York reporter on the trail of an Icelandic monster--in that country. Yes, the film boasts the immense talents of
Mirren,
Christie and
Polley. But such participation asks the film's only compelling question: Why did so much talent commit to so little?