Review of The Fall (2006) by Tibor B — 25 May 2010
There's always a fine line between story and visual style in film. A good story can only be heightened by a strong vision, but striking visuals alone rarely overcome an uninteresting story. Indian commercials director Tarsem Singh has created some truly stunning sequences, filmed mostly on real global locations.
The heart of the story is a friendship between a young Romanian girl, a wonderfully amateurish Untaru, and an injured stuntman in a 1915 LA hospital, with the latter manipulating the child inot obtaining morphine for him in exchange for humouring her with a story.
There's some interesting ideas about the subjectivity of storytelling, and its a bold move to make the storyteller a jilted suicidal depressive, with the childs naive optimism as counterpoint. Unfortunately the simple fairytale story, which wanders aimlessly, is not involving and can't support the images Tarsem creates.
There is much to be impressed by here, but it doesn't excuse the dragging pace and the simmering bleak undertones.
This review of The Fall (2006) was written by Tibor B on 25 May 2010.
The Fall has generally received very positive reviews.
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