The Fall - Review

                                                                                                                  Rating: A-
The Fall. What to say about it. I absolutely loved it. It's a true cinematic experience which I sadly could only catch at home. It was a limited release and certainly not around the area I live. But nonetheless I own the copy now and come back to it from time to time to indulge myself in the fantastical world of The Fall. It's a good film by many accounts but the visuals alone deserve a viewing.

Premise:
It's a story, set in 1920s, about a child recovering from a broken arm in the Los Angeles hospital. There she befriends another patient who is a stunt man much older than her who tells her a mythical story, in parts, everyday. Thus begins the journey of us as the spectator and the girl as the listener into the surreal and magnificent world of a fairytale told by the stunt man. As the parallel narrative continues between the gritty hospital scene and the immaculate fairyland tale, the story intertwines and the two worlds merge together. The characters become more open and we soon realize that the stunt man might be using the girl as a pawn for his own agenda using that fabricated story as a tool.

Review:
The Fall is an exquisite film. "Exquisite" is the word which instantly popped into my mind while thinking about this film and the most appropriate one at that. This film has just the right amount of surrealism and artistry to it, making it a marvelous looking film without over-boarding into the abstract genre. The scenes and images make sense to me as an audience and work as an essential part of the story. What I'm trying to say is that it's no Tree Of Life, rather better(In my humble opinion). It achieved what it set out to, through the imagery it used. Tree Of Life left me dazzled me with the visuals but never quite took me to the philosophical elation it was trying for. It felt more like a statement of the director rather than the journey while The Fall is the opposite. Many people might wonder at the parallel between the two films but for me the connection was natural as both used visuals to extreme extent as the major component of storytelling. The Fall fulfills that job remarkably. Tarsem had stated clearly that there is no CGI used in the film which makes it all the more organic and close to reality. It's not just about the visuals anyways, the film has many other shining aspects. The performances from the lead girl Alexandria(Catinca Untaru) and the Stunt Man/Roy (Lee Pace) are captivating. These two characters essentially hold the film together and keep the viewer interested through their realistic portrayals of their respective characters. I particularly loved Catinca, she was truly the heart of the film. There were plenty of moments where her expressions and delivery was so natural it was superb. The look of awe on her face when she hears the story and the innocence in her eyes was very raw and real. In many ways we were the spectator and listener along with her. Roy was telling us the story and when he would suddenly stop at the most interesting part, Alexandria would rightfully show disappointment reflecting our thoughts perfectly. The story was very cohesively written and the pacing of the events made us engaged and interested throughout as it progressively gets more emotional and climatic. In a way I have already praised the story by liking the two main characters. A great story always has great memorable and interesting characters and when a story accomplishes that, most of the work is done. Once the audience relates and understands the characters, the writer can essentially take us anywhere through those characters and manipulate our emotions the way he wants. This is a great mastery and few screenplays has this. The art direction and the sound complement the story and elevate the overall experience by many degrees. Tarsem's skill is apparent in this. We can tell it's his passion project afterall he himself invested all his money instead of asking the mighty studios. By doing this, he maintained the artistic integrity and creative vision which would have otherwise been lost if financed by studio executives. It was a risk through and through and as a film lover and member of the audience I can proudly say it paid off with flying colors.

Was it perfect? No. Am I bothered? Not at all. I loved this film because it tried to achieve it and that itself is an accomplishment. It tried to do something risky and out of the box. It is a nightmare logistically and financially to pull something like this off on your own. I would commend a person daring enough to try it and more so if he achieves it. Tarsem finished the job and did it by giving it everything he had and it shows on the screen. The film was a broad canvas and he painted it with his imagination with no one to stop him. Sometimes such an exercise can be very self-indulgent for its own sake but The Fall isn't one. It's an experiment of a child running wild with imagination put on film and instead of feeling distant or left out, you go along with it embracing your own inner child and be mesmerized by the experience.

Conclusion:
Ultimately it comes down to how great of a time you have while you're watching a film. No matter how philosophically superior a film might be, but if it leaves you with a feeling of boredom then it's not doing it right. While being entertained can be very subjective but I can say this with confidently that The Fall won't bore you. Such films need to be made more and I only wish they get more audience because a film which breaks the narrative formula and succeeds, should be seen. More artists should take creative risks and experiment with the genre on a broader level and I really wish more studios invest in those artists. Because ultimately such endeavors will move the medium forward, not the recycled cliched-laden films which plays safe to make a profit. Hopefully you don't need any more persuasion to watch this film. The opening credits scene can be viewed as a beautiful short film on its own and I believe once you watch that opening you would be hooked to your seat till the very end.