Hal & Harper will touch your heart (review)

A moving, tender, luminous and captivating nugget, to see in France on Mubi.

A new prodigy of American indie cinema, who examines the coming of age with a bittersweet tone of his own, Cooper Raiff directs his first feature film when he is not yet 23 years old. Shithouse (2020) caused a sensation, then Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022). And before his 30th birthday, he signed his very first series, Hal & Harper, a little gem of a family drama which takes sadistic pleasure in hitting where it hurts, until it tugs at our heartstrings like rarely.

Presented at Séries Mania last March in France (and also screened at Sundance), Hal & Harper arrives today on Mubi and it’s the kind of gem that absolutely must be explored.

If you love Mark Ruffalo and the end of Task (on HBO Max) saddens you, the Marvel actor is just as stunning in the skin of a morose and depressed father, who did what he could to raise his two children after a tragedy that turned his home upside down. Hal and baby Harper must have grown up too fast. Deeply damaged, the brother and sister have formed a close relationship, sometimes toxic, but essential to their respective survival.

Far from Riverdale, the luminous Lili Reinhart finally finds a role that suits her, opposite Cooper Raiff, who plays, writes and directs the eight episodes of this skin-deep family drama. The duo establishes on screen a fraternal alchemy, tender and overwhelming, which gives the series a form of harsh sweetness that never lets you go…

What makes Hal & Harper immediately captivating, beyond a sharp storyline and great sensitivity, is this velvety painful atmosphere which envelops each character, each relationship, like a nagging trauma from which none can shake off. The fantastic soundtrack contributes greatly to this, accompanying the exploration of this dysfunctional family, the co-dependence of the brother and his big sister, while exposing the raw pain that lies beneath. Said like that, it may seem heavy… but Raiff manages a small miracle: making it all radiant, and not just moving. Hal & Harper will touch your heart.

Hal & Harper, mini-series in 8 30-minute episodes to watch in France on Mubi from October 19, 2025, one episode per week.