Fall

The Fall

Directed by: Tarsem Singh

Starring: Lee Pace

Genre: Drama/Action-Adventure

Run Time: 117 min.

Release Date: May 2008

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

THE FALL is going to rank up there as one of the most visually stunning films you’ve probably never heard of. Filmed in India, France, Romania, Indonesia, Africa, Italy, the Maldives, Turkey, Nepal, Egypt, China, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Indonesia, and the U.S., the film’s broad leaps from continents and countries makes for some incredible shots that fall across the screen time and again.

Combining both child-like fantasy and human frailty, the story is seen through the eyes of a child named Alexandria (unknown 9-year-old starlet Catinca Untaru). Recovering at a hospital in 1920s Los Angeles, she stumble upon a severely injured stuntman named Roy (Lee Pace, THE GOOD SHEPHERD). Roy wants nothing more than to end his now miserable existence by overdosing on morphine. And he sees a way to get it when Alexandria comes to him as a friend. He regales her with a fantastical story about bandits, adventurous scientists and freed slaves. We, the audience, view the storytelling through the mind of Alexandria as she interprets what Roy tells her, making for some pretty lighthearted moments. But mixed amongst them is the seriousness of what Roy wants from her: for her to get a bottle of medicine so he can commit suicide.

As the story Roy tells her comes to a close, and he becomes more desperate for the drugs, Alexandria “falls” and re-injures herself while trying to obtain the medication Roy wanted in order to end his life. Adding to her injuries, Roy must finish the story by telling her who lives and who dies, but Alexandria isn’t ready for that “fall”. Is Roy ready? That, as they say, is where the real story rests, and where the real story ends.

The acting isn’t stellar by any means, but the sweeping vistas, amazing dissolves, and nearly painted-on, picture-perfect shots will have most watchers’ mouths gaping. The intimacy of the story and how it unfolds also adds an emotional uniqueness that will probably surprise most viewers. I know I was.

If you want something that’s a stunning spectacle in the style of THE CELL and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, then you’ll gobble up The Fall.