Fall (1997)

Great Film overall

Beautiful, moving film.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I just caught the last 25 minutes of "Fall." It struck no dim memory, so I stayed with it. I found the leading man attractive enough and the leading lady suitably endowed to be a top model. The plot--cabbie and supermodel--well, in one way or another this is one of the world's oldest films clichés, and my eyes rolled when I read the synopsis. He was supposed to be a poet, so that was the big diff between the hundred other similar tales of Ordinary Joe and the Glam Lady. (Let's go back to "Her Highness and the Bellboy" with Hedy Lamarr and Robert Walker!)As "Fall" plummeted to its conclusion I was struck by the standard twists,right up to the airport dash, the miraculous sighting as she enters alimo in full drag--did he read the Paris gossip columns to know whereto find her?--his despondent reactions. (Although the pillow-weeping was a bit much.) I was also struck at how, well...very gay he seems.Not that there's anything wrong with that! But given his normal-guy looks, I had to take a big suspension of disbelief. Maybe in her business she was always sleeping with gay-ish men? What alerted me that this was probably a VERY bad movie, and I'd missed the worst of it, was his letter to her, read over the action as she leaves and he follows. It was such drivel I could only assume she fled to Paris because she realized he was retarded! He was certainly no writer of merit.I was dismayed when the movie closed with a very long shot of what appeared to be the two principals walking in the park, sitting on a bench, chatting. If it was not a misty flashback moment,one assumes they reconciled in some fashion? Unless it was another shortish, swishy man and his towering blonde friend? (Sorry for that, but I am gay myself and there is shot of him walking away from the camera, wearing only jeans that had me screaming, "you go,girlfriend!) If "Fall" pops up again, I'll probably watch it from the beginning. Sometimes a bad movie can lift the spirits better than a masterpiece. I just hope there are not a lot of examples of our cabbie/poet's writing.

There seems to be a trend - those who stumbled upon this film late night on IFC or on Showtime, as I did, seem to enjoy the film more than those who responded after the movie's initial release. Also the age demographic, those in their mid 30's - 40's seemed to relate more to the film. I fall into that category.I love NY/NJ Indie films, they are gritty and diverse - creating that either a love hate relationship with their screenwriters/directors - think Kevin Smith or Ed Burns. With this move I now have that love relationship with Eric Schaeffer. Which I did not have after "If Lucy Fell" (I do have the soundtrack for that movie, if anyone would like a copy). What I enjoyed about this film - the sexual tension and chemistry of the two main characters, seeing it portrayed on film, (call me crazy but no one gets naked anymore, it is refreshing - seeing realistic down and dirty sex scenes), and the passion that fuels/drives the first few weeks of a new relationship. You felt the tension and the heat. The first half an hour of the film reeled me in.Overall, FALL is much better than many of the large budget studio films and a good portion the Indie films I have seen recently. I have grown weary of seeing the same recycled character actors and over publicized glamor stars. It was nice to see fresh faces.Dialogue was quick, and surprisingly well written, story was predictable but overall a good adult film that brought back memories and made me fall into my husbands arms last night remembering our first turmultuous months together.

This movie is so embarrassing. It's the motion-picture equivalent of fan-fiction. The dialogue was childish and unrealistic, and the plot was simply unbelievable.Ms. Cadenet is a pretty good actor, though, and manages to rise above the horrible material while looking lovely and stylish. She somehow manages to make the two-dimensional character written for her come alive on screen.Other than that, there's not much to recommend in "Fall". I suppose there must be some context in which this would be more entertaining than simply staring at my own shoes for ninety minutes, but it's hard to imagine what that might be.

Fall just goes to show that you can make a great movie, based on a story about emotions and dialog. You don't need the big name stars, special effects, stunts, and explosions. From a male perspective, I thought the movie was very believable. The movie was somewhat similar to my own life. These people that write reviews about hating the movie and how unbelievable it was, are obviously men that have never experienced that kind of passion and love. I can tell you without hurting my ego, that men involved with that kind of love and passion, do cry and do hug their pillow. I have dated models and do write poetry to, for, and about them. The average person holds this expectation of models and actresses that is unrealistic. They are normal people just like you and me. They just happen to look better. Most are really nice and sweet. It's amusing to read the reviews that say how unreal this movie is. If you feel that way so strongly, you have no passion and are most likely a miserable person to be around. This would be why you haven't experienced the love and passion expressed in Fall's story and it's words. It was a really good movie and I would recommend it to anyone.