Hal Hartley has had a profound and rarely acknowledged impact on American cinema. His films reclaim the wit of classical Hollywood comedy and film noir, while putting forward an American take on Jean-Luc Godard’s ironic playfulness with genre. This synthesis still resonates throughout American film comedy; recent hits like Little Miss Sunshine and Thank You for Smoking owe much to his trailblazing efforts.

The film that stood as a culmination of his signature style was Henry Fool, his 1997 masterpiece. But that has now been surpassed. Posited as a sequel, Fay Grim is considerably more expansive and political than its forebear – not to mention funnier. As the title suggests, the story has shifted to Henry’s wife, portrayed again with sparkling humour and sass by the inimitable Parker Posey.

Seven years earlier, Henry (a wonderfully snarky Thomas Jay Ryan) killed a vicious neighbor and fled the country, abetted in his escape by Fay’s brother, the celebrated poet Simon Grim (James Urbaniak). Fay is left with a porn-obsessed son, a sibling in jail and a vanished spouse.

So far, so grim. But, as the movie begins, Simon has come to realize that Henry’s piss-poor literary tome, “Confessions,” just might be some sort of political tell-all chronicling the secret atrocities of various governments around the world. Then the CIA shows up, led by super-suave Agent Fulbright (a delicious role for Jeff Goldblum) with another story altogether. Soon Fay is jetting around Europe and getting involved in political and romantic contretemps too complex to précis here.

Hartley’s films trade on rhythm and this requires an enormous command of tone by both actors and director. Fay Grim is a perfect example of how a film can be dramatically elevated by a wildly successful collaboration in this area, Posey and Goldblum’s scenes being especially electric.

Fay Grim also features a marvelously off-kilter cinematographic style, with angles constantly pushing the viewer into frequently absurd but
somehow appropriate points of view. It is a most impressive return from one of American cinema’s true innovators.