Hal & Harper

Hypnotised by the strong visual language and creative story structure about young adult siblings living on fragmented memories of a mother who abandon them at an early age, leaving their bipolar father to bring them up. The story picks up with surprising news from their father (another brilliant performance by Mark Ruffalo) that unconsciously triggers the dominos to fall, as each one struggles to deal with their own dilemma, but also attempting to be there for each other. Creator, Cooper Raiff, not only plays Hal, but wrote and directed this powerful series of a fractured family unit dealing with the dismantled past while rebuilding a blurry future...

Watched at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Cooper Raiff created two movies that are some really smart and funny movies about men, relationships, and identity and this new upcoming series is Raiff's biggest project to date. For the first four episodes premiered at Sundance, Raiff still has a pretty good grip of what he explores on. Comedy, men, relationships, and bonds together in the nature settings. Unfortunately, unlike his previous works, I really didn't care much for this one.

Throughout, Raiff does apply some of his usual approaches and style with the themes, characters, and ideas. I do appreciate some of the themes Raiff was exploring but I found myself not really liking the characters, as unlike being funny and interesting, I mostly found the characters to be kind of boring and at times, unbearable. Almost as if they were annoying and filled with narcissism that makes them uninteresting.

With some of the pacing being off, the uses of cliches on the writing and tone makes it more unrealistic. Including some certain choices on the designs and portray being a bit weird that doesn't fully work. The performances of the cast are solid as everyone gives good emotions and expresses. But Raiff seems to kind of stretch out the narrative with moments that felt a bit overlong and overbearing.

Even though this is only four episodes and not completed, I personally found myself feeling as if this could have been another movie and it would probably be better than a show. Don't get me wrong, I like Raiff and I wish him very well with his newfound career and works. I love to see him keep going but this one just wasn't for me.

I think the story is too disconnected to be impactful with the choice of storytelling they used. If this was a spin off to something and the characters had a template for people to follow maybe this would be better but it just doesn't work.

This is like some sundance garbage that's too convoluted to follow but everyone praises it as art because it makes them feel using film techniques. This would have made more sense as an anthology as it's main goal doesn't seem to be telling a story, the main goal is to invoke a feeling.

This would have made more sense as an anthology as it's main goal doesn't seem to be telling a story, the main goal is to invoke a feeling.

Really uninteresting "day in an average life" series. It's not exciting. Not extraordinary. Not special in any way. Theres no "unusual aspect" to anything. It's ordinary scenes about ordinary topics. There's no "there there".

I found little humor.. and very little to engage a viewer.

Is Hal supposed to be "on the spectrum"? If not.. seems like he may be. Really puzzling thing is ...why are two grown adults attending 3rd grade???

The story is "all over the place" and so fractured each of the independent storylines for these family members fails to garner much interest.

The entire series appears to be predicated on one line of dialog "you had to grown up too fast." It bounces back and forth between timeframes.. and none of it is comes together in a cohesive manner.

All the acting is good.. Not a real fan of the abundant "emo" music soundtrack.. but the story.. the story just isn't there.

Even after the finale I'm left wondering.. why did I waste my time??? There's no payoff, no ending one can't predict. Absolutely nothing unexpected.

There's just no reason to watch this series.

Hal & Harper isn't just a show-it's an experience. From the very first episode, I felt pulled into a deeply personal and emotional world. The series blends memory, trauma, and reality in a way that's both poetic and haunting. The transitions between scenes and timelines are executed with such precision and feeling, it's like watching thought and emotion unfold on screen.

The dialogue is a highlight-raw, honest, and beautifully vulnerable. It's rare to find writing that feels this real. I felt seen, understood, and strangely comforted by the characters' openness. Harper's arc especially resonated with me-her longing, her silence, and her need for safety are portrayed with stunning depth.

The visual symbolism, like the scenes of adult Harper and Hal attending school, spoke volumes about grief and emotional stagnation. It's subtle, but incredibly powerful once you catch it.

In short, this show doesn't just tell a story-it feels it. Hal & Harper is for anyone who loves introspective, emotionally layered storytelling. It stays with you long after it ends.