Fay Grim (2007/Hal Hartley)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C+     Concert: B-

 

 

Hal Hartley has maintained his independent credibility for years.  Now he is shooting his features in HD and Fay Grim (2007) is a sequel to his popular Henry Fool.  Whether you have seen the previous film or not, this stands out well on its own, though seeing the first will give you additional in jokes.  On the lamb for seven years, Fay (Parker Posey) already has to deal with her brother Simon (James Urbaniak) in prison for helping Henry evade capture.  Suddenly, she gets an opportunity to see him overseas thanks to the CIA!

 

Despite having to juggle her son Ned (Liam Aiken), Fay goes for it and lands up involved in international intrigue and murder where she does not know who she can trust.  This even extends to the main agent (Jeff Goldblum) who makes her the offer in the first place.

 

Without selling out, Hartley has made a funny sequel that is smarter than your formula film and just loves The Cold War spy thrillers of the past.  Posey, just coming off of her commercial turn in Superman Returns, is hilarious in the title role and the cast is in top notch form to make this slightly manic and wacky.  The film has some serious moments too, as well as an interesting use of text graphics on the image, which is not overdone.  The result makes Fay Grim a pleasant surprise.

 

The 1.78 X 1 image was shot in digital High Definition and it can show in definition, depth and detail limits.  Otherwise, this is a decent shoot by up and coming cinematographer Sarah Cawley.  Hartley did the music score himself and the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is interesting without being consciously quirky.  Extras include deleted scenes, Hartley’s original trailer for the film and two featurettes.  One is a making of piece, the other an episode of Higher Definition from HDNet.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo