Mark Ruffalo + Lili Reinhart: Take our word for it, you won’t find a more interesting family series than this one

Mark Ruffalo + Lili Reinhart: Take our word for it, you won’t find a more interesting family series than this one

When Hal shows up at his sister Harper’s window at 3 a.m. to take her to McDonald’s, we immediately understand: there is nothing normal or ordinary about this sibling relationship.

They have no boundaries, talk all the time and are more or less the center of each other’s lives. It’s disturbing, ridiculous and obviously very unhealthy. Welcome to Hal & Harper, the new Cooper Rife series coming to Mubi.

A young director who changes the register

If the name Cooper Rife means nothing to you, know that this thirty-year-old American made his mark in independent cinema with two disturbing films: Shithouse and Cha Cha Real Smooth (with Dakota Johnson).

His specialties? Naturalistic dialogues, delicate love stories and modest acting. and generally few resources, but serves a staging that goes straight to the point, but always with a little touch of poetry. With Hal and Harper, she leaves the realm of romance for an even more difficult subject: family and its traumas.

Siblings frozen in time

Harper (Lili Reinhart, featured in Riverdale and Best Actress winner at SériesMania) is 24 years old, with a depressing job and a romantic relationship she’s been dragging along beyond belief. Her little brother Hal (played by Cooper Rife himself) is a student but prefers to run away from college and run to his sister’s house.

As for their father, played by the always impeccably fair Mark Ruffalo, he loves them dearly, but emotionally disappears when things get too tough. In short, this family works… but not really.

A brilliant twist that changes everything

A few episodes in, the series reveals its main strength: exploring a childhood trauma that froze everything, and about which we won’t say anything here, Rife makes a radical choice. In the flashbacks, the adult actors play their 7- and 9-year-old versions. Lili Rinehart dominates a small elementary school office. Cooper Rife plays basketball against real kids. The result oscillates between comical and downright heartbreaking.

This visual discovery is not a simple trick: it perfectly illustrates the idea that these two must grow up very quickly and remain in childhood. By age 9, Harper was secretly smoking and reading literature. By the age of 7, Hal was already a troublemaker, trying to please everyone. When you fail to be a child, you never cease to be.

A series that isn’t afraid to go far

Despite the lighthearted humor and indie soundtrack, Hal & Harper doesn’t take it easy. When Harper finally puts the limit on her brother and asks him to leave, her face falls. The series captures these moments with brutal accuracy. unceremoniously.

Lili Reinhart gives a stunning performance here. His character seems to have everything under control, but two decades of emotional repression bubbles to the surface. When it explodes, it’s devastating. Mark Ruffalo, as the loving but failed father, finds the perfect balance between tenderness and selfishness. And Betty Gilpin, in a small role as her father’s new companion, shows what healthy, non-toxic love looks like.

Hal & Harper is available on Mubi one episode per week starting October 19.

Source: Allocine

You may also like