The Fall (2006 film)

Infobox Film
name = The Fall


image_size =
caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Tarsem Singh
producer = Ajit Singh Tommy Turtle Tarsem Singh
writer = Dan Gilroy Nico Soultanakis Tarsem Singh
narrator =
starring = Lee Pace Catinca Untaru Justine Waddell
music = Krishna Levy
cinematography = Colin Watkinson
editing = Robert Duffy, Spot Welders
distributor =
released = September 9, 2006 (Canada)
January 3, 2008 (Russia)
January 14, 2008 (Indonesia, Blitzmegaplex theathers only)
May 9, 2008 (United States limited)
May 30, 2008 (United States nationwide)
runtime = 117 min.
country = India United Kingdom United States
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:358987
imdb_id = 0460791

"The Fall" is a 2006 film by Tarsem Singh, starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, and Justine Waddell. It is based on the screenplay for the 1981 film Yo Ho Ho by Valeri Petrov [cite web|url=http://www.thefallthemovie.com/ |title=Official Website] .

Plot

Roy Walker (Lee Pace), an early 20th century Hollywood stuntman, lands in the hospital after performing a dangerous stunt to impress his girlfriend. Distraught and suicidal after losing her, the bedridden Roy befriends a fellow patient, a young girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru). He enchants her with vivid, fantastical tales about six heroes — an Indian, an ex-slave named Ota Benga, an Italian explosives expert, Charles Darwin, a mystic, and a masked bandit — who unite to fight a common enemy, Governor Odious. Although Roy has genuine affection for Alexandria, he also has an ulterior motive: by telling tales and gaining her trust, he tricks her into stealing morphine from the hospital pharmacy so he can commit suicide.

As the line between fact and fantasy blurs, real-life people begin to populate Roy's fictitious stories. A hospital nurse (Justine Waddell) becomes the center of a romantic feud between Governor Odious and the masked bandit, who turns out to be Roy. Mesmerized by the epic, ever-changing story, Alexandria returns to the pharmacy to pilfer another bottle of morphine for Roy. While climbing on a ladder to reach the pills high on a shelf, she loses her footing and falls, injuring herself.

After surgery (depicted in an animated sequence like a similar surgery scene in "Frida"), Alexandria is visited by Roy in the recovery room, where he consoles her and confesses his stories were a ruse to obtain morphine. Once they are fully recovered, Roy returns to work as a Hollywood stunt man and Alexandria returns to picking fruit with her family in the orange groves.

Release

"The Fall" premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. For its wide theatrical release in 2008, the film is presented by David Fincher and Spike Jonze.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. As of July 28, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 53% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 73 reviews, which classifies the film as "Rotten". [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10007441-fall/ |title=The Fall Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-07-28 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes] However, Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 64/100, based on 23 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/fall2006 |title=Fall, The (2008): Reviews |accessdate=2008-05-30 |publisher=Metacritic] Roger Ebert gave the film 4/4, and wrote, "You might want to see for no other reason than because it exists. There will never be another like it." [cite web|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/REVIEWS/805290301|title=The Fall|accessdate=2008-05-30|publisher="Chicago Sun Times"] Nathan Lee of "The New York Times", however, wrote that the film "is a genuine labor of love — and a real bore." [cite web|url=http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/movies/09fall.html?ref=movies|title=Broken Spirits on the Mend|accessdate=2008-05-30|publisher="The New York Times"]

As of July 28, the film had grossed $2.14 million, ranking it 95th among movies released in 2008 (16th among films playing on less than 1000 screens maximum). [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2008&p=.htm |title=Box Office Mojo > 2008 Yearly Box Office Results |accessdate=2008-07-28 |publisher=Box Office Mojo]

References

External links

* [http://www.thefallthemovie.com "The Fall"] Official Website
*imdb title|id=0460791|title=The Fall
*rotten-tomatoes|id=10007441-fall|title=The Fall
*metacritic film|id=fall2006|title=The Fall
*mojo title|id=fall08|title=The Fall
*amg movie|id=1:358987|title=The Fall