Fay Grim (2006)

Director:

Hal Hartley

Writer:

Hal Hartley (written by)

Genre:

Action | 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:

Sequel | Vibrating Cell Phone | CIA | Character Name In Title

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:

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

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

HDNet Films

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)

A perfect follow-up, a not entirely perfect film

Henry Fool is a better film. But this is the perfect way to follow-up a film like 'Henry Fool.' To take Henry very seriously, his 'lies' and his mysterious aura. Even the opening shot of 'Henry Fool' when Simon puts his ear to the ground as Henry comes walking over the hill is more fully manifest through 'Fay Grim.' The over-the-top jokes, that are more or less meta-jokes (about the writing of the film and the jokes themselves), are good but the opening of the film is a little saturated in them. Also Hartley's use of Dutch angles throughout the film is jarring, yes, it's intention, but it feels forced and over-used, it goes beyond jarring to, what I'd like to call, annoying. It's a flawed film, but a must see for any Hartley or 'Henry Fool' fan.

And don't listen to stupid reviews, don't watch this unless you've seen the first film. The intrigue, satire and wit of this movie is totally lost if you haven't seen Henry Fool. It's a sequel. That's just dumb.