Fay Grim (2006)

Director:

Hal Hartley

Writer:

Hal Hartley (written by)

Release Date:

26 September 2008 (Brazil)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

Featuring the continuing adventures of Henry Fool

Plot:

A ten-years-later continuation of Hal Hartley's "Henry Fool", where Fay Grim (Posey) is coerced by a CIA agent (Goldblum) to try and locate notebooks that belonged to her fugitive ex-husband (Ryan). Published in them is information that could compromises the security of the U.S., causing Fay to first head to Paris to fetch them ... |

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Sequel | Vibrating Cell Phone | Cell Phone | Murder

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Parker Posey	...	Fay Grim
D.J. Mendel	...	Father Lang (as DJ Mendel)
Liam Aiken	...	Ned Grim
Megan Gay	...	Principal
Jasmin Tabatabai	...	Milla
Chuck Montgomery	...	Angus James
James Urbaniak	...	Simon Grim
John Keogh	...	Prosecutor
Claudia Michelsen	...	Judge
Jeff Goldblum	...	Agent Fulbright
Leo Fitzpatrick	...	Carl Fogg
J.E. Heys	...	Herzog
Aminata Seck	...	Woman Visitor at Prison
David Scheller	...	Convict Husband
Aoibheann O'Hara	...	ER Nurse

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

HDNet Films

Trivia:

Fay Grim was shot almost exclusively using Dutch angles (tilting the camera off to the side).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Father Lang: Fay? You OK?
Fay Grim: I'm afraid.
Father Lang: Why? Has something happened?
Fay Grim: I'm afraid for my son... He's fourteen.
Father Lang: Boys have been known to survive that, Fay.
Fay Grim: I'm afraid he'll grow up to be... well, like his father.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Fay Grim' or: How Do You Spell Espionage? (2007) (V)

Far Better Than I Expected

When I first heard that Hal Hartley was doing a sequel to Henry Fool, I was excited (it's been a personal favorite for years now), and then wary when I heard it had something to do with terrorism. Having just seen it though, I was surprised to find that it worked, while still being an entirely different sort of movie than Henry Fool. The writing and direction were both dead on and the acting was superb...especial kudos go to Hartley for reassembling virtually the whole cast, right down to Henry's son, who was only four in the original. Like I said though, this movie is quite different from the first, but it works: I reconciled myself with the change in tone and subject matter to the fact that 10 years have passed and the characters would have found themselves in very different situations since the first film ended. In this case, an unexpected adventure ensues...and that's about all I'll give away...not to mention the fact that I'll need to see it again to really understand what's going on and who's double crossing who. While it was certainly one of the better movies I've seen in some time, it suffers like many sequels with its ending, as it appears that Hartley is planning a third now and the film leaves you hanging. I'll be sure to buy my tickets for part 3 ('Henry Grim'?) in 2017.