Review of Falling Down (1993) by Sherry L — 23 Feb 2013

On his way to celebrate his daughter on her birthday, William Foster (Michael Douglas) is stuck in a traffic jam. This incident proved to be the straw that broke the camels back for Foster who goes beserk this hot summer day. To get some change to call his wife, he walks into a korean grocery store. The store owner refuses to change Foster's bill for coins, but is advising him to buy a can of coke from him, to get some change. It turnes out that his prices are insolently high, and Foster would barely get any change over after buying that coke. In blind fury, he grabs a baseball bat (the korean guy was just about to use it) and demolish the whole store, cursing over the prices and projecting his rasistic thoughts about "greedy immigrants".

Minutes after, he is resting on a grass lot, unprovocely, when two street gang members start to harass him. After the two gangsters have declaire that they will only let Foster pass if he pays them a sum of money, he once again grabs his baseball bat (from the korean store) and turns them out of the way.

William Foster is a name who has essentially lost everything, during a short time. He has recently been fired from his work for the government (D-FENS), a fact he hasn't told anyone about. He has screwed up his relationship with his ex-wife, resulting in her being scared of him and a straining order have been arranged. He furthermore lives with his mother (who lately also have become scared of him) has no contact with his little daughter., although he is determined to buy her a nice present and see her on her birthday.

William Foster is the anti-hero personified. It's strikingly easy to sympathatize with him, despite his voilent spree.

Detective Prendergast (Robert Duvall), makes the antagonist of the movie. He is working the his last day before retireing, and the police force has already arranged a farewell party for him, with a cake and everything. We also get a pretty close view on that character, and learn that he is married to a very unstable and needy wife, who dominates him. Some of Prendergast's collegues, secretly look down on him for being a henpecked husband.

The festivities on the police station has to wait once they start to get reports about a dangerous man in white shirt with tie, armed with a baseball bat is terrorizing the streets.

At the same time, a recenly divorced mother (played by Barbara Hershey) is worred after having getting several phone calls from her ex-husband who despite the straining order, threatens to visit, cause it's their daughters birthday.

Joel Schumacher is the director, which would have been a hard guess. His filmography may not impress, but in Falling Down he shoes the same poignancy and disputing as you can see in Oliver Stone's movies, to take a good example.

I only wished that the character's mental problem was displayed more clear. I mean, it's suggested that he is fired from his work because of his aggressions, so I'd like to know where that anger orginated at first, or at least that it was better displayed. Because it almost appears like William Foster just is one guy who happen to be very unlucky, and might as well be you or me. Perhaps Schumacher was afraid that the character would lose it's sympathy from the viewers then, but I actually think the effect would be the opposite; William Foster would even more be a person of flesh and bone, then.

"Sergeant prendergast: Let's meet a couple of police officers. They are all good guys.

William Foster: I'm the bad guy?

Sergeant Prendergast: Yeah.

William Foster: How did that happen?".