Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Fall, now on DVD, is a gorgeous film in the vein of fantastic storytelling classics like The Princess Bride.
Alexandria (adorable and earnest newcomer Catinca Untaru) is a young immigrant girl who has broken her arm while at work picking oranges. While in the hospital, she meets Roy (Lee Pace of Pushing Daisies), a film stuntman who has also suffered a fall, although his has left him with a severely injured back and an addiction to morphine pills. To get Alexandria to provide him with the medication he craves, Roy tells her an epic story, acted out for the audience by Alexandria’s vivid imagination. Its characters are played by the people she knows, although sometimes her own visions come into conflict with Roy’s descriptions (one of the characters, for example, is an Indian. Roy implies the character is Native American, but Alexandria imagines a man from India.)
The relationship between Untaru and Pace’s characters is magical. The two of them have strong chemistry together, and Alexandria’s affection for Roy is one of the film’s most compelling characteristics. Pace gives a heartbreaking performance as Roy, simultaneously charming the audience while showing us that he’s just as broken on the inside as he is on the outside.
Another stunning aspect is the cinematography, particularly during the story sequences. The costumes are complex and gorgeous, the colors so vibrant you can practically taste them. The world of Alexandria’s imagination is almost like a Salvador Dali painting come to life, and the result is breathtaking.
This reviewer is fully aware that it’s pretty cliché to say that if you see one movie this year, “See this movie.” But really, you should. For anyone who’s grown up watching movies like Labyrinth and has waited for years to see another truly worthy fantasy movie, The Fall is required viewing. It’s a fairy-tale all grown up.
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