Writer/director Hal Hartley, a star of the indie film community, is back with another effort, Ned Rifle. The film is the final part in his Grim family trilogy, a collection of three films that center on a troubled family that struggles within the boundaries of American society.

Ned Rifle, which played at the Toronto Film Festival last fall before arriving at SXSW, comes eight years after the last film in the series, Fay Grim. Considering that Hartley himself doesn’t consider these movies as connected as a traditional trilogy, if you are coming into Ned Rifle only as an Aubrey Plaza fan, you won’t be too lost. It’s the style that just might throw you off.

Each film is supposed to center around a member of the family and here, it’s Ned (Liam Aiken). At the start of the film, Ned is in witness protection, living with a devout minister and his family. While he’s turning 18, his mother, Fay (Parker Posey) is being moved to another prison. She was convicted of treason and was previously locked up in a secret government detention center. She’s now being moved to another prison, where Ned will be able to see her.

It turns out that Fay is letting a young girl write her autobiography. And Ned’s uncle, Simon (James Urbaniak) is leaving behind his roots as a poet laureate to be an online stand-up comic. Simon’s stalker, Susan (Plaza), uses Ned to meet Simon. But she has an ulterior motive: she also wants to meet Ned’s father, Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan). Ned wants to kill him for how he ruined Fay’s life.

In the world of Hartley, the absurd rules the day but it’s how his characters grapple with those absurdities that makes Ned Rifle interesting. Liam Aiken gives a good performance as Ned, holding the film together. It is a more reactive role, as his character continuously loses control of moments where he is supposed to have the upper hand.

But it’s really Plaza - who had never appeared in either of the previous Grim movies - who steals the show. She’s a wild tiger, untamed and unable to put on lipstick the right way. Susan is almost like a malfunctioning robot. In a way, Susan is similar to the zombie Plaza played in Live After Beth. She is continuously able to inject energy into projects that might otherwise be too quiet. However, one has to wonder what will happen when she finally gets into a film when everyone else is at her level of energy.

Hartley’s style is still an incredible force here, with his nuanced control of dialogue evident in every scene. Ned Rifle isn’t a movie with an overbearing visual style, but a project that relies on every word. And Hartley wants you to hear his words. The characters never speak over one another. It’s closer to a play at times than film.

Ned Rifle will never get a wide audience, but it’s not made for one. Hartley wanted to see his trilogy reach a conclusion and it certainly should please fans of his films. His humor is often so quiet that it could go unnoticed, but if you have the time to dig in to the 80-minute film, it has its rewards.

Ned Rifle will be shown in theaters in 10 cities around the country on April 1. It will also be available on Vimeo.

image from ‘Ned Rifle’ courtesy of Richard Sylvarnes