i haven not see henry fool and but after watch fay grim i be not sure i want to . maybe hartley aim to be the anti thriller director he sure succeed with this yawner . base on the official description woman discover that her dead husband manuscript contain material that could pose a threat to national security i expect a taut geopolitical drama . instead i get flimsy structure and goofy dialog and flabby characterization and a convoluted plot and and a tone that shift so often it suggest that hartley change the script accord to his mood at any give time . i can hang for a long time with a frustrating and hard to follow plot ( e. g. duplicity ) because i figure that the loose end eventually will come together . even when they do not and or they do but they leave linger question ( e. g. duplicity ) and sharp writing and act can hold one interest . but half way through fay grim i reach a deadly realization i do not know what be go on and and i do not care . too bad and because i really like parker posey and reduce here to work with an absurd part that ask her to morph from indifferent and estrange wife and indifferent and clueless mother to tough and shrewd international player capable of psychological mano a mano with terrorist . there also bad casting . jeff goldblum can be very good and but he not capable of overcome miscasting a a cia operative . he look almost a uncomfortable in the role a i be watch him in it . his cia sidekick be bad while he look like a refugee from the quarterfinal of american idol ( be there really young cia agent with big lick of hair rakishly drape over their forehead . ) . then there the sticky question of the character age . goldblum be 54 when he make fay grim while thomas jay ryan and who play henry fool and be 44. neither be make to look or seem old than their actual age . yet and a key point in the story be that they serve a cia agent in nicaragua back in the 70 . goldblum character would have be in his 20 then while henry fool would have be a teenager . be hartley be quirky or lazy . the problem be too numerous to list .