Review of The Fall (2006) by M.j. M — 04 Dec 2012

It is difficult to pigeonhole Tarsem Singhâ(TM)s The Fall in any sense: genre, quality, or theme. The Fall is unique for such a high budget film in modern times, when all movies seem to be remakes or identical plot flicks with the only differences being character names. This isnâ(TM)t so here. The film is set in a hospital outside of Los Angeles in the 1920â(TM)s; a paralyzed stuntman (Lee Pace) tells a remarkable story to a young Romanian girl with a broken arm (Catinca Untaru), as the plot carries on, reality and fantasy intertwine. The Fallâ(TM)s visuals are attention grabbing from start to finish, and while I have mixed feelings on the theme and plot; this movie needs to be seen by all who have a working sense of sight. This movie is serious eye candy.

Tarsem Singh directs for the first time since Cell in 2000 in this off beat 2008 film. Singhâ"known for his visually pleasing moviesâ"doesnâ(TM)t disappoint here. The Fall is as visually stimulating as it gets. The film was shot in 28 different countries, and in spectacular fashion. The movie was produced with no use of CGI, once realizing this I reflected on the images I had seen for those 117 minutes and was astonished. It does not get better than this piece visually; even with the special effects of the modern era, natural beauty captured in cinema is impossible to beat. Take the scene of the five heroesâ(TM) on the island, or the âBlue Cityâ?. The scenes are breathtaking. Royâ(TM)s story takes five heroes on an epic adventure through unbelievable landscapes that clearly represent this movieâ(TM)s strength: imagery. The film won one award, and was nominated for three more in âBest Cinematographyâ?. Credit to Colin Watkinson as cinematographer.

A solid acting effort all around in this film is refreshing with no big namesâ"just quality. Lee Pace as Royâ"the stuntmanâ"was particularly convincing. A strikingly complex character, the angst and depression is seen clearly; but genuineness and charm shine through in his telling of an amazing tale. Untaru is believable and charming throughout as the sweet but slightly devious Alexandria. These two are the only actors who are able to shine. Interestingly the director told the cast Lee Pace was paralyzed in real life. This must have added to the reality and feelings toward Roy on setâ"a nice touch from Singh. Other than this the heroes in Royâ(TM)s story do a decent enough job. They donâ(TM)t do any harm to the overall quality.

The Fall was a huge undertaking of a movie in that it took four years to shoot, and it cost 30 million dollars. Most of it Tarsem Singhâ(TM)s own. Something like a vanity project for Singh, with such a huge budget, it only grossed 3.2 million at the box office. The lack of publicity was probably due to Singhâ(TM)s overspending in production, and the movie was dead before it was released. Nevertheless, an absolutely gorgeous movie, sometimes the plot seemed to lag behind. Overall I enjoyed the intricacy of the two stories at once along with the stellar acting of the two stars. Even with a plot that was a little clichà (C), and a bizarre finish; I think the cinematography and visual appeal of this movie are too much to pass up. The Fall is unique and therefore worth seeing.