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Fay Grim By John P. McCarthy Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- The engagingly off-kilter "Fay Grim" (Magnolia) is an international espionage farce centering on the titular woman (Parker Posey) whose husband, Henry (Thomas Jay Ryan), is a mysterious fugitive suspected of consorting with terrorists. In the sequel to his 1998 independent sensation "Henry Fool," writer-director Hal Hartley sends up spy movies, offers droll reflections on literature and geopolitics, and fashions a spy thriller-cum-romance of his own. Fay is struggling to raise her 14-year-old son Ned (Liam Aiken) all by herself in Queens, N.Y. Her brother Simon (James Urbaniak), a Nobel-Prize-winning poet, is doing time for helping Henry flee the country seven years earlier. After a setup that includes the arrival of a toy for Ned with a coded message, Fay's complicated story takes off. CIA agent Fulbright (Jeff Goldblum) agrees to arrange for Simon's release from jail if she will go to Paris and retrieve Henry's multivolume diaries. It seems as though every intelligence agency and covert operative on the planet wants to get their hands on Henry's literary musings. Many mishaps and twists later, Fay winds up in Istanbul and decides to take action motivated by love and loyalty. Hartley, who also served as editor and wrote much of the musical score, strikes a tone that's part deadpan and part madcap loopy. The viewer is never entirely certain whether laughter is the intended response to the clever, crisply delivered dialogue or whether to take seriously his observations about global security and international relations after Sept. 11, 2001. That said, he holds your attention, if only because you don't know what to make of the picture. No doubt, he is satirizing a long cinematic tradition that includes "The Third Man," "North by Northwest" and "The Bourne Identity" -- to name three examples -- and tweaking the types found within the genre, particularly the naive and perhaps innocent American abroad. Hartley can't conceal the affection he has for his hapless heroine and his leading lady Posey. Fay starts out befuddled and forlorn, becomes a hilarious pawn in the movie's middle section, and evolves into a borderline tragic protagonist during the final third. Throughout, she has no shortage of admirers and abusers, but to the extent the movie is successful, it's because the audience comes to see this ungainly woman as the most alluring and complex figure in a turbulent world. It's hard to imagine this progression working with a different actress in the role. As for the overall effect of "Fay Grim," because the movie is so hard to pin down, there's a good chance viewers who aren't members of the Parker Posey fan club will emerge more frustrated than intrigued. The film contains occasional rough and crude language, some violence and sexual references and one sexual encounter. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R - restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. - - - McCarthy is a guest reviewer for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film & Broadcasting. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies. END Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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