Many years after her notorious husband, Henry Fool, fled after killing a neighbor, Fay Grim receives a visit from CIA agent Fulbright, who tells her that Henry is dead, but that some of his journals have been unearthed in France. She sets forth on a globe-trotting odyssey that soon leads to the discovery that he is alive, and his journals are more than they appear to be.
Acting
Parker Posey's panic-attack-as-performance-art energy.
Direction
Hartley's signature deadpan formalism crammed into a spy thriller.
Writing
Dialogue so arch it needs a permit from the historical society.
Director
Hal Hartley
Parker Posey
Fay Grim
Liam Aiken
Ned Grim
James Urbaniak
Simon Grim
Jeff Goldblum
Agent Fulbright
D.J. Mendel
Father Lang
Megan Gay
Principal
Jasmin Tabatabai
Milla
Chuck Montgomery
Angus James
John Keogh
Prosecutor
Claudia Michelsen
Judge
Leo Fitzpatrick
Carl Fogg
Sibel Kekilli
Concierge First Istanbul Hotel
Thomas Jay Ryan
Henry Fool
Saffron Burrows
Juliet
Miho Nikaido
Gnoc Deng
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot entirely on digital video in 2006, Hartley embraced its cheapness as deliberate aesthetic — this looks like a spy film made by people who found the equipment in a closet.
The entire trilogy (Henry Fool, Fay Grim, Ned Rifle) took 22 years to complete — Hartley essentially made his own weird indie Bond franchise starring Parker Posey instead of gadgets.
US
