Review of Falling Angels (2003) by Robert L — 23 Apr 2011

I don't know if this film is officially an indie film, but it feels like it. While it has plenty to pick at, I won't. Because what it does, it does very well. It's not a great movie in the mainstream sense.

It doesn't begin or end well. There are as many questions as answers. And it's sad. "Falling Angels" is about a dysfunctional family navigating the waters of a mean spirited father and a drunken mother.

Three teenage girls have their own way of dealing with the pain and confusion inspired by their parents, a tyrannical father and a mentally absent, drunken mother. The film is set in the late 60s. The production designer did a fabulous job of finding clocks, lamps, and other objects which were ubiquitous in the late 60s.

There isn't a conventional narrative. The screen-play is a collage of scenes from the life of a family desperately trying to stay afloat. It's well acted and superbly directed, with writing which is candid and real.