| Overall Grade: |
B- |
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| Story: |
C+ |
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| Acting: |
A |
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|
| Direction: |
B- |
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|
| Visuals: |
B |
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Mostly interesting, mostly a misfire
by Todd Mason (movies profile)
Jun 12, 2007
1
of
1 people found this review helpful
Nothing in this film is fully-realized, which is a pity since some aspects of it are very, very good when they are good...Parker Posey, particularly, turns on a dime, going from often effective over-the-top comedy to regrounding her character multiple times. Hal Hartley wanted to make his absurdist spy comedy gell with serious, even tragic, implications, and mix isn't right...the real pain and anger Fay Grim experiences come across, but it isn't the Kafka-esque satire it wants to be nor quite the reasonable worm-turning drama it falls short of. This kind of confusion of tone has also befallen such other recent espionage dramas as mostly but not entirely frothy MR. AND MRS. SMITH and the wildly uneven CASINO ROYALE, so perhaps it's not too suprising that an indie take on similar materials might also fall short thus...a pity, though. Still worth seeing for true fans of the cast or the writer/director (or ambitious espionage drama), but not the film it should be. |
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