The Fall (2006)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Tarsem Singh

Writers (WGA):

Dan Gilroy (screenplay) and
Nico Soultanakis (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

A Little Blessing In Disguise.

Plot:

In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastical story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances.

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Quest | Indian | Governor | 1920s

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Catinca Untaru	...	Alexandria
Justine Waddell	...	Nurse Evelyn / Sister Evelyn
Lee Pace	...	Roy Walker / Blue Bandit
Kim Uylenbroek	...	Doctor / Alexander the Great
Aiden Lithgow	...	Alexander's Messenger
Sean Gilder	...	Walt Purdy
Ronald France	...	Otto
Andrew Roussouw	...	Mr. Sabatini
Michael Huff	...	Dr. Whitaker
Grant Swanby	...	Father Augustine
Emil Hostina	...	Alexandria's Father / Bandit
Robin Smith	...	Luigi / One Legged Actor
Jeetu Verma	...	Indian / Orange Picker
Leo Bill	...	Darwin / Orderly
Marcus Wesley	...	Otta Benga / Ice Delivery Man

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent images.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

India | UK | USA

Language:

English | Romanian

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | USA:R | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario/Saskatchewan) | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:15 (cut) | Finland:K-13 | South Korea:12 | Germany:12 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Company:

Absolute Entertainment (II)

Trivia:

The film was shot on 26 locations over 18 countries.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Early in the movie, in the scene where the brothers are riding across the Charles Bridge in Prague, present-day city buses are clearly visible to the right, on the far side of the river.

Quotes:

Alexandria: This Odious bad man?
Roy Walker: Oh yeah.

Movie Connections:

Features One A.M. (1916)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, II. Allegretto

Imagine, if you will...

Tarsem's 'The Fall' is a bi-polar, surrealistic dream. Taking the reins from similarly structured films such as 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen', 'The Princess Bride', and 'Pan's Labyrinth', it thrusts us between two worlds; back and forth - at a pace that is still unlike anything that we've ever seen before. Our two stories intertwine in grand harmony - that of the little girl (Catinca Untaru) with a broken arm befriending a crippled Hollywood stuntman (Lee Pace) with an epic fable, and that of the fable itself; which involves a band of outcasts seeking revenge on the evil Governor Odeous. Our stuntman Roy manages to keep little Alexandria interested in his story by conforming it to her imagination. Everything is not as it seems with Roy, however, and we learn quickly that he has his own reasons for spinning this tale for his pint-sized audience member. Tarsem manages to pull wonderful performances from his two leads. Catinca, especially, is so adorable that one cannot help but fall in love with her.

Shot over several years and in several countries, the landscapes and liquid paintings that Tarsem has created are among some of the most stunning visuals you will ever see. He pulled this off in his previous work, 'The Cell', but with a much darker tone. It's such a unique dream-like style that we as the audience cannot escape it. It mesmerizes you and bewilders you at the same time. Simply gorgeous.

The storyline itself was classic fairytale. Its engaging and it pays off several steps of the way through. 'The Fall' is a much more visual trip though, as opposed to its much more emotional and darker cousin, 'Pan's Labyrinth'. Does that mean it's as light-hearted as 'Princess Bride'? No - it definitely has its dark moments, its gut-checks; but never really goes all the way over. I saw this film with Tarsem in Chicago and he said that he wanted to go much darker than the film did, but little Catinca would not let him. So you've got the character of Alexandria dictating the story to Roy in the film, and the actress Catinca dictating the story to Tarsem on the other side of the lens. I found this to be an interesting revelation.

In closing, I found 'The Fall' to be visually arresting and quite an engaging story. Because this was such a unique experience, I feel I have to rate it in two different senses - the story itself and the visual art accompaniment. So, I'll say the story is a 7/10 and the visuals rank in on the Spinal Tap over-scale of 12/10.

Don't miss it.

-iii