Review of Fay Grim (2007) by Michael W — 31 Dec 2007

I liked this movie better than Henry Fool. It's barely even a sequel, though it uses the same characters from Henry Fool and continues the story of their lives. As with all Hartley movies, it's all about the dialog, the movement of characters in the space they occupy, and to a lesser extent, the cadence of the dialog, editing and musical score (also composed by Hartley).

There are no car chases and nothing blows up. Despite this, I found this movie to be really gripping. Parker Posey is hit or miss for me as an actor, but she does a good job here as a not-too-bright or worldly single mom.

Jeff Goldblum usual mannerisms are toned down which for me was a good thing because I can't stand him as an actor. The movie does drag in a few places, and the constraints placed on the actors by Hartley's style of directing does produce a few unconvincing lines/scenes, but I laughed a lot during this movie which really ends up being the most important thing.

Fun story that twists and turns, and characters hilariously wind their way through political espionage using only their hearts as a guide. I do wish Hal hartley would let someone else play and record the music he writes though, it sounds like a cheap MIDI keyboard played by a computer.