Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Fall (2006)



“What a mystery this world, one day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over.” 

            The Fall is not a movie I would recommend to many people. I enjoyed the movie. The story was so different and creative and it was so visually stunning and artistic. Those are the main reasons why I would not recommend this movie to everyone. There is nothing gross or profane about it but not everyone wants to sit through a film that is not mainstream. Well, you know what, read my summary and judge for yourself.
            A little girl named Alexandria is recovering in a Californian hospital from a broken arm. The time period is the early 1900s when people would stay in the hospital for a long time for things such as broken arms. Alexandria is a very friendly little girl and is well known throughout the hospital because she curious and likes to explore.
            One day she drops a note out of her second story window to a nurse but the note blows into one of the wards. Alexandria goes down to the ward where her note glided. The note is now in the possession of a man named Roy Walker (Lee Pace). Roy is a stuntman in the flickers and he got seriously hurt making one when he jumped from a bridge. Someone he knows tells him that he was stupid for trying to kill himself over a girl. As the movie goes on we find that Roy was deeply in love with an actress and she left him for the main actor who had more money.
            Roy begins to tell Alexandria some stories. He begins with one on Alexander the Great and when she comes back the next day he begins another one. The story is about three men who are out to seek revenge against the evil Governor Odius. Each man has been hurt by Odius and swear to personally kill them. Roy has an incredible imagination and makes up characters based on people around him and as well as the story being based off of somethings in his own life. The tale comes vividly to live as the three men travel across deserts, travel to fare off places in the Middle East and India.
            Unfortunately, Roy is not telling Alexandria stories for the sake of being nice to her. He tells her these stories so that she will run off and get him morphine when he needs it. In the middle of telling the story Roy stops and has Alexandria do things for him. Alexandria being a little girl does not know that Roy is manipulating her and does whatever she asks of him if he tells her stories.
            As the days go by Roy becomes more upset. He tries to kill himself but that fails. His lowest moment is when Alexandria in a plight to save Roy and to help him to sleep loses her balance trying to climb the shelf for morphine and falls hitting her head. He realizes how low he has sunk and feels terrible for hurting her.
            In the end Roy is able to make peace with himself.
            Trust me the plot is really good. The parts that are Roy’s story are the most brilliant and beautiful scenes I have ever seen in a movie. The colors are stunning and just pop right out. The Middle Eastern/Indian locations are places you only dream about or see in a movie they truly make you feel as if you are in Roy’s dreamy fictional story.
            What makes The Fall such a great movie is that you can see the care and time that was put into making it. This was not a movie that was made in a month and thrown out to the masses as quickly as possible. Apparently The Fall took several years to make to get the right locations and actors. Every actor down to the smallest extra was cast to perfection. The locations alone span eighteen different countries. Dedication and care oozes out each frame of the movie from beginning to end. Also I liked how Roy’s storytelling was not consistent it changed and whatever he changed broke through into the story, like you can hear his voice or Alexandria’s at certain times. I recommend The Fall for real cinephilés who can appreciate the artistry in the direction and cinematography and storytelling. But hopefully my summary was well written and helpful to maybe get you interested in seeing it even if you are not cinephilé. 

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