The Fall – Review

The Fall contains some of the best visuals ever put on film. It has a serviceable story, but the visual style and execution cannot be denied, even for those which do not enjoy the plot. It is a quality feature overall, and is worth checking out for fans of most any genre.

Opening in 1915 with a black and white scene, chaos is afoot. A train sits on raised tracks above a river while men all around attempt to help a horse which has fallen into the water below. This is a movie being shot, and a stunt which went awry. The viewer is next taken to a Los Angeles hospital where young patient Alexandria (Untaru) is bored with drawing and looks for other entertainment. Despite her broken arm, she has been practicing her English and tries to toss one of her drawings to a nurse outside, Miss Evelyn (Waddell).

The note goes off course and instead lands in the lap of Roy Walker (Pace), who doesn’t understand the words. Alexandria hunts it down and the two patients reveal they have both fallen, with Alex’s busted arm and Roy’s more serious condition. His body took a lot of damage during a movie stunt when the horse went into the water in the scene before. He may never recover and has limited use of his body, and depression is setting in.

Roy happens to be a bit o0f a storyteller and a begins a quick anecdote about Alexander the Great. Alexandria pulls up a chair to listen. Off we go into adventure, and an epic tale of love and revenge. As Roy battles with his new life limitations, he focuses more and more on Alexandria and her young mind.

The Fall is a very adult movie despite the magic on screen and the childlike wonder presented by the young Alexandria. It deals with some darker themes due to Roy’s injury, despite the gorgeous acts playing out in his tales. The tightrope of real-life emotion and fantastical storytelling is well balanced. The actors all bring subtlety to their well-realized characters.

For me, the story is pretty solid overall and the narrative visual execution is simply amazing. The combination at times is pure magic. There is just so much to be wowed by, even if the plot is not quite as mind blowing as what plays out on screen. The film gets a +1 for spectacular and fully enthralling visual displays alone, and should be seen at least once by most any movie fan. The director’s flare for stunning shots is realized in all of his films, but this is his best work that I have seen.