On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 4/214 |
Max Braden |
Much more plot than in Hartley's previous movies (for good or bad). The dialogue is fantastically clever and funny. |
| 10/34 |
Dan Krovich |
A return to form for Hartley. |
When BOP sees movies from Hal Hartley on the release schedule, it's cause for celebration. Although he's not a huge, mainstream name, he is a key presence in the world of independent film, with a prodigious resume of projects he has written and directed. In fact, one of his movies, The Unbelievable Truth, has a spot on our list of most under-appreciated films.
Hartley's past work has been nominated for and won numerous key awards in the indie film world. He's been nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes twice, once for Simple Men and once for Henry Fool, which won best the screenplay prize at that festival. The Sundance Film Festival saw fit to nominate Trust and The Unbelievable Truth for its Grand Jury Prize. And we have to concur with these accolades. Hartley is a special filmmaker.
Fay Grim features Parker Posey in the title role. She portrays a single mom who harbors fears that her 14-year-old son, Ned, will grow up to be just like his father, a man who has been missing in action for a good seven years. (That husband just happens to be the Henry of Henry Fool). It's not like Ned's life is full of great role models. Fay's brother Simon is serving time in prison for helping Henry to escape the law. While in his cell, Simon is able to contemplate the activities he and Henry were involved in, and starts to believe that perhaps his friend isn't really the man he might have thought he was at the time of the Henry Fool events. His suspicions are confirmed when the CIA asks Fay to go to Paris to retrieve some of Henry's personal belongings, which leads to an elaborate con game that puts Fay smack in the middle of the world of international espionage.
Look for Fay Grim to attract a lot of attention as it receives a limited release from Mark Cuban's distribution company, Magnolia. As is the case with many Magnolia releases, the movie will be available on DVD within days of its theatrical release. This gives Hartley fans an easy chance to check it out without having to wait for the typical three-month span. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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