DVD review: The 'Fay Grim' arabesque

Hal Hartley's "Fay Grim"

comes off like a loopy offspring of "Syriana" and TV's old "I Spy." The actors, including stars Parker Posey and Jeff Goldblum, seem to be living a half second behind the rest of the world. Every conversation becomes a disembodied arabesque; every other camera angle pulls a Caligari.

It's plenty weird and oddly funny. That description suits the director, whose indie suburban dramadies earned him a cult following in the early 1990s.

"Fay Grim" is a sequel to Hartley's "Henry Fool," about a small-town bullshit artist who weaves tales of mad adventures. In "Fay," those stories turn out to be true. Henry Fool is, in fact, an international man of mystery now either dead or deep in the underground. His wife Fay (Posey) is recruited by the CIA to find several notebooks of his ultra-secret "confessions." Fay races around Paris and Istanbul, outflanking the lonely spy guys, who all fall for her.

A lot of critics hated "Fay" and no doubt some Hartley fans felt betrayed by the plunge into espionage. I found it a first-rate guilty pleasure -- odd, exotic and ludicrous. (I have not seen "Henry Fool.") In the extras, someone calls it Hartley's "The Empire Strikes Back."

I'm guessing "Fay" plays much better on DVD than in a theater. (In fact, the theatrical release and DVD debut came days part.) The overly complex plot (part of the fun), rapid-fire dialogue, dizzying cinematography and Posey's stern but jittery performance make it tough to take in one in-your-face sitting. Plus, it's helpful to rewind here and there, to ensure you've caught this plot point or that. If you care.

Magnolia Home Entertainment released "Fay Grim" about a month ago. The making-of extra is smart and artsy. Repeating the same info is a cable show about the film produced by 'Fay' backer HD Net. Images (1.77:1) and audio are OK for government work.

You can buy this DVD now, at Amazon.