The beginning of Hal Hartley's new movie "No Such Thing" had me giddy with delight. How could it not? There is Sarah Polley, who has been absent from the screen for much too long. Polley wears her long blond hair in loose braids and her simple work clothes hang like a school girl's. She speaks truth in a quiet, even voice, clearly a beacon of reason in a world gone bad. Even the name for the sensible, orphaned secretary, Beatrice, is perfect.

When Beatrice's journalist fiancé and his crew disappear while on assignment to find a mysterious fire-breathing Monster for a news story, Beatrice convinces the boss to send her to Iceland after the Monster. On the way, Beatrice survives a plane crash, undergoes experimental, excruciatingly painful pins and needles surgery, and with the care and encouragement of a good doctor (Julie Christie) learns to walk again. Maybe that sounds terrible, but it's not. It's the best part of the film. Polley's Beatrice is proclaimed a medical and spiritual miracle. She is.

Sad to say, the film begins a slow but steady decline with the appearance of the Monster. Hal Hartley regular Robert John Burke's performance seems exactly like every other Hal Hartley performance - except of course, the make-up, which in itself is not terrific. The monster breathes fire, but otherwise, doesn't look awfully scary. He's a mean drunk, that's all, sometimes, he kills people. What else can an alcoholic Monster do? The Monster starts an awkward friendship with Beatrice, and reveals that he longs to die, and that only one mad doctor knows the secret to ending his life. It is up to Beatrice to help him.

The Monster gets to deliver eloquent speeches that failed to capture my full attention. The message, I think, was: the sad Monster is more human than humans. Plus, there are more messages: the cynical news-selling media is bad; the world is full of darkness. Sigh. After an early, humorous look at an apocalyptic New York, the obvious moralizing dulls the movie's edge. Sarah Polley, however, who takes the Monster back to New York, is transformed into a hedonist party girl, and that is worth watching.

Hal Hartley lost his splendor after his first two Long Island gems: "The Unbelievable Truth" and "Trust." "No Such Thing" goes back to the winning ingredient that made Hartley's first two films the stylized delights that earned his Indie hot shot reputation: a smart beautiful blonde at the helm. Despite all my numerous and much felt complaints, "No Such Thing" is worth watching. If you are an avid Sarah Polley fan, you might even need to see it twice. I am seriously considering it.