Parkey Posey in Fay Grim

July 8, 2007 9:18 PM

Is Parker Posey's acting in Fay Grim purposely awful?

I couldn't watch more than 10 minutes of the movie, as her acting was so cringe inducing. Is this intentional, and if not, why is she in so many movies?

posted by four panels to society & culture (11 comments total)

I haven't seen this movie, but I absolutely hated Hartley's earlier "Henry Fool," and I understand "Fay Grim" is a sequel. I haven't seen many of his movies, but a stilted or unreal quality to the acting is something he seems to utilize a lot.

(I liked "The Unbelievable Truth," "Flirt" and "Trust" though.)
posted by apetpsychic at 9:36 PM on July 8, 2007

Parker Posey's acting has always been very "presentational" - which means when you can see the actor acting.

I suppose some might this cute or charming, but essentially it breaks the story.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:45 PM on July 8, 2007

Haven't seen Fay Grim, but I liked her in Josie and the Pussycats. (Oh, did I tell you? I saw Josie and the Pussycats, and YES I liked it.) Her acting the J&tP was suitable due to the intentional campiness of that movie.

I have seen clips from Fay Grim in the relentless promos running on HD Net, and from the little I saw, I agree, she seemed stilted, but so did everyone else.
posted by The Deej at 10:36 PM on July 8, 2007

It's definitely intentional, probably the most distinctive aspect of Hartley's style. In fact, I've seen other films with deliberately flat, affectless dialog referred to as "Hartleyesque". I think it's intended largely as a distancing device (maybe we can pull the word "Brechtian" in here, too). Posey is good at it, but she's not limited to it. Take a look at her roles in Christopher Guest's movies (I'm thinking of Best in Show and A Mighty Wind), where I think she handles broad comedy quite well.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:21 PM on July 8, 2007

Seconding that it's Hal Hartley's doing, and NOT Parker Posey's, although as a huge Henry Fool fan I LOVED Fay Grim--the first two-thirds are riotously funny, IMHO. I've always thought the stilted quality of the acting in Hartley's movies (which I'll admit takes a bit getting used to) is a bit like watching a recording of live theater (acting is broader, more self-aware). It's a quality I notice in Mamet's movies as well, for more obvious reasons, I suppose.
posted by EL-O-ESS at 12:28 AM on July 9, 2007

I loved Henry Fool and haven't seen Fay Grim. I also love Parker Posey in just about every other thing I've seen her in-- Daytrippers, Party Girl, House of Yes, etc. etc., so I might be biased, but I think her acting is partially a stylistic thing (you know that smug-angry thing Al Pacino has been doing in every role since Dog Day Afternoon? That's just his thing) and part of it is who is directing her, as EL-O-ESS said.
posted by sneakin at 4:41 AM on July 9, 2007

While I agree that Posey has gotten lazy with her "cute indie girl" shtick -- as displayed in both her actual indie roles and in the mainstream roles like Superman where she parodies her indie girl identity -- it isn't fair to judge her or anyone's performance in Fay Grim.

Fay Grim is for Henry Fool lovers -- much like Casino was for Goodfellas lovers. Whatever its virtues as a free-standing movie are kind of besides the point.
posted by MattD at 6:50 AM on July 9, 2007

Parker Posey tends to play Parker Posey in films. It works in some projects, and it doesn't in others. I've had this very same conversation about her acting performance in at least three different films with three different people, so believe me when I say you're not alone.
posted by slimepuppy at 7:18 AM on July 9, 2007

I liked Henry Fool but Fay Grim didn't work for me. Henry Fool had a much better balance. I found Fay Grim to just be annoying after a while. And, I agree, I don't blame Parker.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 8:38 AM on July 9, 2007

Oy, I just watched Fay Grim too. It was supposed to be like that, but It was supposed to work. It was a catastrophe. Not Paker's fault, Hal Hartley's. I haven't seen Henry Fool, but I got a BA in Film and I like a lot of crazy "awful" stuff; Fassbinder and Von Trier etc.

Posey's a darn great actress; if you want to see her do well, rent Clockwatchers, The Anniversary Party, Waiting For Guffman or House of Yes.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:04 AM on July 9, 2007

hal hartley has always cultivated a acting style that is disconcerting. (i'm a big fan, although i haven't seen much of his stuff post henry fool and haven't seen this latest film). There's a number of different ways of looking at it, but for me its always been about questioning conventional film acting --method acting style i would call it-- which may seem realistic to us, but i would posit that's because we're used to it. The choppy, bad-acting-seeming style that hartley uses may in fact be more realistic.
I know most of the time you don't go to a film to have conventions of the medium challenged, but I think its a good point --a lot of real-life people seem like they're acting a lot of the time, and the cool style of most acting isn't really what people are like--always saying the right thing, and always knowing the best retort.
Yippy kay yay.
posted by alkupe at 12:02 PM on July 9, 2007