Fay Grim (2006)

An acquired taste

This is not a film for everyone. It is definitely an acquired taste. At the time I picked up this movie, I was not aware that it was a sequel and with that being said, if you have not seen the previous movie, you will be able to watch this one on its own. I was attracted to it by the fact that the leading lady Fay Grim is played by the queen of independent movie industry, Parker Posey. It is hard to say what genre this film belongs to because it is so quirky. Dialog is exaggerated by all characters so it is intended to be somewhat surreal. I was suprised to see Parker Posey reprise her comedic take on cell phone in vibrating mode inside her underware. She did that in another movie and it was interesting to see it again becuase it is just as funny, if not more. To me this is a movie about the fabulist Henry Fool, who in spite of being a writer, spy and a liar is loved by his wife, son and brother in law. He is a rebel that everyone loves to hate, one of those characters that everyone is drawn to by his charisma regardless of the fact that one can feel touble from afar. Film has dry humor and appears to drag at the moment, but cast is funny. Saffron Burrows is so beautiful and sexy one cannot take his eyes of her. Definitely not intended for wide audiences, but absolutely unique in its own way. May 16, 2008

Not for everyone...

Have you ever watched a movie and it just clicked? The movie wasn't perfect - in fact it was probably quite flawed - but it hit you at just the right time for it to resonate. It's a movie that you hesitate to recommend, it's a movie you can perfectly understand people hating, and yet for you it actually rose to the level of masterpiece. And even as you love it you realize that if you had seen it at a time when you were a little more distracted, or a little more impatient, or a little more tired, you would have probably hated it. Lost in Translation was such a film for me. So was Mother Night. And now i happily add Fay Grim to that list.

I should have hated it. It betrayed the quirky simplicity of Henry Fool by making the characters all part of some absurdly complex and far-reaching spy plot. It almost plays like a satire on Hollywood sensibilities: "How about if we make a simple film about a frustrated, misunderstood writer who inspires an unrealized poet?" "OK, as long as the writer ends up actually being an international spy wanted by the CIA!"

And yet, this film works. It works magnificently. Not really a sequel to Henry Fool, more like a riff on Henry Fool, like an interesting thought experiment in re-imagining an existing story in the most far-fetched way. But it works. The spy plot is Byzantine in it's complexity but if you're paying attention it remains logical and consistent. The character are - as in all Hal Hartley films - played in an overly theatrical manner, somewhere between kabuki and sketch comedy, and yet it works. The dialogue... the dialogue is classic Hartley, endlessly quotable, with fabulously intelligent lines dropping left and right.

I can't promise you'll like this, I can't even promise you'll stay awake. All I can say is if you liked Henry Fool and Amateur (and DEFINATELY start with those-- DO NOT make this your first Hartley film) then give this a shot.
February 22, 2008

An Unexpected Sequel

As Henry Fool is among my top 10 favorite films, I was shocked, surprised, baffled I'd never before heard of a "sequel" until told by my brother a few months ago. I wrestled with watching, not wanting to spoil a nearly perfect film memory with a substandard follow-up. I needn't have waited, as Fay Grim finds Hartley and Co. in as fine a form as ever, the characters we fell in love with in "Henry" now older, wiser and a little world weary. Parker Posey is a force of nature as Fay. We watch her still somewhat unraveling life as a single mom in Queens, worrying about her brother, Simon still serving a long prison sentence for his role in Henry's escape - an episode that confounded viwers at the end of the first film. Additionally she's fearful of the legacy Henry left for their child (the marvelous Liam Aiken) now a teenager ever in trouble at school, and who's escapade at film's start (involving an ancient type of ViewMaster with pornographic images, suggesting the long missing Henry has somehow made contact with his son), and some guilt over her affair with Simon's publisher.

A film fleshing out these characters is precisely what most directors would've made, but oh, not Hal. From the first minutes, things spin out of control when CIA Agent Fulbright shows up in her kitchen, proposing to her that those journals of confession . . . . "the masterpiece" Henry lugged throughout the first film are a sort of key to understanding multi-national terroristic occurrences that peppered the last part of the 20th century. A complex plan is set in motion for Fay to retrieve Henry's diaries in France, and single mom Fay, begins a worldwide tour that pushes the story into one of international intrigue, espionage, the power of love and longed for redemption.

All of the classic Hartley "ticks" are present: odd camera angles, rapid fire, clearly annunciated yet near impossible to comprehend dialogue delivered both rapidly and in a long forgotten deadpan style best described as "theatrical" - and other devices that alienate some audiences, while invigorating others. It is not without flaws, but this is true of all masterpieces, and Fay Grim is a masterpiece. Hartley takes these now well known characters (at least to "Fool" fans) and obliterates any preconceived notions we may have held about their fates. While there are plenty of darkly comic moments to cause outright laughter, there are, too, scenes of enormous emotional weight that are no less than Shakespearean in their delivery. It is this combination of comic and gut busting intensity that Hartley has always excelled at, and which make his work so genre-bending.

The performances from every single cast member are uniformly excellent. This is true right down to the smallest roles which in most films might be perceived as "extras" such as a hotel clerk, or a security guard, a casual observer in the street - all of them are people who are burned into your memory and essential to the telling of the tale at hand: there seems to be no such thing as an "extra" in this film. Particular kudos go to Ms. Posey takes Fay on a truly life transforming journey. One need only look at the image of her from the film's beginning and the very final image of her to understand the heart of Fay and of this film.

I've avoided reading reviews of "Fay Grim" before watching it tonight, but the fact that a year after its release I hadn't even heard of it, tells me this didn't do as well as anyone may have hoped. While I'm disappointed that this film (or Henry) take back seats in audience popularity to the mass produced dreck from big budget Hollywood system, it is encouraging to see that Hartley is still at it, still relevant, still making movies that can sweep one with the force of a hurricane into a world of wonder - a world where everything disparate and foreign and everyone "good" or "bad" is forever connected, still part of the same amazing universe.
January 1, 2008

An Ambiguous Spoof

This is my first Hal Hartley film and I had no idea it was a sequel to `Henry Fool'. Parker Posey plays Fay Grim, the wife of Henry Fool. She does not seem to have her life in order. But who can blame her. Her husband is on the run or dead, her brother is in jail and her son just got expelled from school. What could be worse?

Here is where this espionage spoof film takes off on its implausible but interesting ride. A C.I.A. agent is waiting in her home for her to return. He informs her that her husband is dead, and the multi-volume diary he wrote is wanted by every government in the world. And now that they know Parker can obtain some of them, they all try to use her.

The C.I.A. convince Fay to fly to Paris to retrieve the books that are rightfully hers. But do not tell her that she is being used in a game of espionage. As she gets thrown into this world of international intrigue, she learns to play the game in her own way. A quirky film that definitely lends itself for another sequel.
November 11, 2007

A spoof that sometimes hits/misses. Worth a try

This is a low-budget SPOOF of the espionage genre. To help frame your expectations, you should know that: (1) The acting is wildly heavy-handed. The stars are having great fun delivering their lines with excessive eye movement, frequent hand gestures, and off-key pacing. (2) The script deliberately lacks continuity and plausibility. Oftentimes lines are abruptly jarring and humorous because they have absolutely no relevance to previous plot elements. (3) Shots are frequently framed in off-balance angles, poking fun at genre excesses. (4) A pop-eyed Jeff Goldblum delivers complex and classically preposterous dialog in a winningly sarcastic manner.

The film has a guiding intelligence, deliberately starting with a plot element stolen from the B-films of the 1930's: a secret code with a structure that would defy explanation by Carl Sagan. The film's over-the-top acting is used mostly for comic effect during the first 90 minutes. In an early running gag, Fay Grim's son Ned is so frequently told to leave that you can't help chuckling while feeling sorry for the lad. Parker Posey's nicely choreographed fall from bed also helps set a humorous tone early in the film.

The film's slow pacing does not enhance the comedy elements OR the drama elements that later emerge. The film's impact as drama is significantly lessened by the early comedy. Moreover, it is hard to be overly involved with the characters and their fates when the early portions of the film are so sarcastic. The musical score is intentionally heavy handed, and I found this (and the off-kilter camera angles) more irritating than humorous.

The over-the-top acting, the implausible and nearly incomprehensible plot of conspiracies/counter conspiracies, and the slow pacing will grind on many viewers. The movie is much too long at 158 minutes.

That said, fans who are receptive to the film's sarcasm might want to watch again ... using closed captioning to best catch the intelligent ridiculousness of the dialog. The film was too slow for me and the sarcasm felt more heavy-handed than light-hearted. But, the comedy may well appeal to your tastes. The film is worth a view for those who enjoy independent films, fans of director Hal Harley, or devotees of Parker Posey (who has the most camera time). September 22, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...