Alexandria broke her arm and is stuck in a Catholic Loas Angeles hospital until it heals properly; the little girl is well known and loved by all for her spirit and curiosity, the same curiosity that one day carrys her into Roy’s room. Roy is a Hollywood stunt man who has had a serious fall, and along with that a serious heart break. His troubles have left him suicidal and when Alexandria wanders into his room he decides to use her to amuse himself and see what she can sneak out of the dispensary for him; he begins telling her an elaborate tale of 5 bandits who are on an epic quest in India and Alexandria begins to visit him every day so that she can get another piece of the story. However, while the story is helping Alexandria forget her troubles, Roy is still fixating on his own and incorporating them into the adventure tale.
The Fall is the first film I’ve seen by Tarsem (who also did The Cell) and I can already tell you I am a fan. Tarsem has a visual style that is lush, striking, bold & epic all at once; the closest thing I can compare him to is Julie Taymor, another director that has a visual style unlike anything that is usually done in the movies nowadays. Tarsem made The Fall so visually stunning I would have liked it based on the decadent visuals, even if I hadn’t liked the story.
What struck me as I watched the film is that there are a lot of similarities between The Fall & The Princess Bride; both are about an adult that tells a sick child a story and the only real difference is how dramatic The Fall is. Through the course of the film Roy and Alexandria bond in a way he doesn’t expect and this makes it more difficult for him when he realizes that the quests he’s been sending Alexandria on are dangerous for her, and wrack him with guilt when one she decides to do something for him to surprise him and hurts herself badly.
I feel completely in love with the character of Alexandria just like the characters in the hospital do. Her character is pure innocence and Tarsem manages to get young Catinca Untaru to give a very emotional and genuine performance that most children her age are not capable of giving. Lee Pace was also an excellent choice a Roy; he shares almost all of his scenes with Untaru and the two manage to have an excellent chemistry together.
When The Fall was in the theatres I wanted to see it but never found the time. I can guarantee when Tarsem’s next film comes to a theatre near me I will make the time to see it. The Fall was excellent on DVD but I can only imagine how beautiful it must have been to see on a giant screen in a darkened theatre.
Director: Tarsem
Writers: Dan Gilroy, Nico Soultanakis, Tarsem & Valeri Petrov
Alexandria: Catinca Untaru
Roy/Blue Bandit: Lee Pace
Nurse Evelyn: Justine Waddell
Bandit: Emil Hostina
Luigi: Robin Smith
Indian: Jeetu Verma
Darwin: Leo Bill
Otta Benga: Marcus Wesley
Mystic: Julian Bleach
Sinclair/Governor Osious: Daniel Caltagirone
Alexandria: You always stop at the same part, when it's very beautiful. Interesting.
1 comment:
I saw this in the theater, and, wow, it was something. I have a lot of admiration for what the director was able to accomplish. In the current age of excessive CGI, seeing so many fantastic images on the screen AND knowing that they actually existed was incredible.
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