“The Hat” is a one-joke film. Sitting on a park bench, a girl (Heather Goldenhirsh) picks up a hat left behind by some guy (Dallas Roberts). When the hat is touched, music like that of a symphony is heard. As she puts the hat on her head, the camera restlessly circles around her body. The hat is so enriching, so soothing; it makes her feel joyously at peace with the world. She seems enveloped in a fantasy world of her own…or something like that.
What is this film trying to say? Is it some sort of statement about the mundaneness of our everyday lives, when the truth is that the world around us is full of endless beauty? I doubt it; that’s reading way too far into this silly romp. The extremely thin premise harks back to the simple minded one-reelers of the early silent era. At nine minutes, this film is painfully too long. “The Hat” is not witty, it’s not very funny, nor is it insightful. It’s just rather dull.
