Themes: Traitorous Spies/Double Agents, Missing Persons, Woman In Jeopardy
Main Cast: Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, James Urbaniak, Saffron Burrows, Liam Aiken
Release Year: 2006
Country: US/DE/FR
Run Time: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A single mother from Queens becomes unwittingly embroiled in international espionage in director Hal Hartley's sequel to the critically acclaimed Henry Fool. Fay Grim (Parker Posey) is determined to raise her 14-year-old son, Ned (Liam Aiken), so he won't be like his father, Henry (Thomas Jay Ryan), who disappeared seven years ago after accidentally murdering a vicious neighbor. As Fay's brother, Simon (James Urbaniak), serves time in a prison cell for aiding Henry in his daring escape, he gradually begins to suspect that the man who inspired him to take up writing in the first place is not the louse he appeared to be, but instead the keeper of some potentially explosive government secrets that, if made public, could prove quite dangerous. As Simon begins to explore the possibility that Henry's autobiography, "Confessions," contains coded references to a wide variety of international atrocities committed by governments around the world, the CIA contacts Fay to inform her that her husband was killed in a hotel fire in Sweden shortly after fleeing America, and that the French government is currently in possession of two notebooks containing drafts of "Confessions." Convinced that the notebooks contain information that could endanger the security of the United States, CIA agent Fulbright (Jeff Goldblum) convinces Fay to travel to Paris and retrieve Henry's property before the information falls into the wrong hands. Now trapped in the middle of a cross-continental con and thrust deep into the world of international espionage, Fay is about to find out that her ex-husband is not only still alive, but in more trouble than he could ever imagine. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Susanne Hopf - Art Director, Natalja Meier - Art Director, Anja Dihrberg - Casting, Bernard Karl - Casting, Anette Guther - Costume Designer, Daniela Selig - Costume Designer, Scott Kirby - First Assistant Director, Hal Hartley - Director, Hal Hartley - Editor, Kyle Gilman - Editor, Ted Hope - Executive Producer, Mark Cuban - Executive Producer, Todd Wagner - Executive Producer, Maren Wolk - Line Producer, Hal Hartley - Composer (Music Score), Richard Sylvarnes - Production Designer, Sarah Cawley-Cabiya - Cinematographer, Joana Vicente - Producer, Hal Hartley - Producer, Martin Hagemann - Producer, Jason Kliot - Producer, Mike S. Ryan - Producer, Michael S. Ryan - Producer, Jason Kilot - Producer, Paul Oberle - Sound/Sound Designer, Hal Hartley - Screenwriter
Fay Grim is a 2006 film by writer/director Hal Hartley. It premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released in theaters across America on May 18, 2007, with a DVD release the following Tuesday, May 22, in conjunction with Magnolia Pictures' "day-and-date" release strategy. The MPAA rated Fay Grim with an R rating for language and some sexuality.
The film is a sequel to Hartley's 1997 film Henry Fool, and revolves around the title character, played by Parker Posey, the sister of Simon Grim (James Urbaniak). The plot revolves around Fay's attempt to unravel an increasingly violent mystery in Europe.
The film is shot almost entirely in Dutch angles, meaning the vast majority of shots are framed diagonally, or "tilted." At the Sundance Film Festival in 2007, Hartley revealed that the two shots in the film's final cut that are not "Dutched" occurred when he and the film crew forgot to tilt the camera.
Plot
Seven years after the events of Henry Fool, Fay Grim (Parker Posey) is coerced by a CIA agent (Jeff Goldblum) to try to locate notebooks that belonged to her fugitive husband (Thomas Jay Ryan). Published in them is information that could compromise the security of the U.S., causing Fay to first head to Paris to fetch them.
