Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars
I watched this on 1/2/09
This movie was quite interesting. I thought the visuals were breathtaking and inventive and I really enjoyed the storytelling aspect.
I also applaud the movie for a nice balance of story telling and real life. I think there could have been a more well thought out and/or longer story even if it meant a longer movie but overall it was well done.
I found the movie hard to follow at times and there could have been more character development but the last scene(s) are excellent.
Should win some oscars for visuals and such but I don't think this is a best picture candidate and I'm not sure if any of the performances were strong enough to warrant consideration either.
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1 hour ago
4 comments:
Yay! I agree about the story being somewhat shallow - and I think this is why some of the reviews were so negative (those who focused on the story found there wasn't much to focus on)! But, for me, the point of the movie was the *storytelling* (along with the relationship between roy and alexandria) and I thought they did a phenomenal job with translating the story through a little girl's eyes and mind (the "Indian" misunderstanding, the jokes she doesn't get, etc.), and with the portrayal of storytelling in general. I'm glad you watched it and that you seemed to enjoy it (and get similar things out of it)!
and yes, the visuals were amazing. That butterfly->reef transition gets me every time, as does the rapid-fire montage during the chanting/ritual (did you know that they sent an entirely separate film crew to do those shots around the world for what amounted to a 45-second montage?!).
though i wish it would get more recognition in general, just because it's a very unique and (imho) wonderful film, i agree that it is ultimately not a best picture candidate. i do feel that both lee pace and catinca (the little girl) did phenomenal jobs with their parts, but i don't think either one is "appropriate" for best actor/actress consideration (catinca is too young - she'd have to have a true starring role for any consideration at all, i think - and pace was, likewise, not really prominent enough).
my biggest disappointment in this movie was justine waddell (nurse evelyn) - i have seen her in other things and she's actually an excellent actress, but she struck me as extremely wooden in this film. i think part of the problem was her part - she didn't have much of one in the "real world" and her character was *supposed* to be wooden in the story - but i was still disappointed, since she was billed as one of the leads.
anyway. i do wish we could watch and talk about this together in person, but i'm really happy you finally watched it! sorry for harping on it so much, but i hope you found that it was worth it in the end!
PS - If you get a chance, you should watch the DVD with Tarsem's commentary, and some of the other DVD extras. While I think he's a bit of a drama queen, his process with Catinca is fascinating, and you realize just how much work he and Lee Pace put into *her* performance, and how patient they both were, and it's just... really great. If I hadn't adored Lee Pace already, I would love him after viewing/listening the extras.
Also: a lot of the other movies you've written about recently are things I plan to watch but haven't yet (Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, etc.), so I'll probably be back to comment at some point.
And also, I just really want to talk about "The Fall" some more, because there are so many things I want to ask you your opinion on - what did you think of the stunt montage? What do you think became of Roy after the film ends (and does it matter? This is a topic of much debate on the discussion boards and I'm not really sure why it matters so much for one's enjoyment of the film)? Do you agree with Drew's assessment that "this is the type of film that makes me love going to the movies"? (I wish you'd gotten to see this on the big screen, btw - it makes the visuals that much more phenomenal.) I could go on... but now I'm just spewing gushy nonsense all over your blog, so I will stop.
I completely agree about the storytelling. I think the character's reaction to the understanding and kind of joint storytelling between the two was great. In a way it was Dali-esque because much like Dali portrayed dreams in an almost nonsensical way where things inexplicably fluidly change, I think the Fall does a great job of showing how stories aren't always received perfectly or the way they are told due to the limitations of the person listening to it. Also the fluidity of stories.
I also agree about Nurse Evelyn. To a degree I feel like most of the "real life" parts weren't shown enough to make the connection valuable.
I don't think what happens to Roy after the movie is particularly important to the movie itself. The end of the movie is a great moment and that's all it needs.
That being said I guess my assumption was that he was no longer suicidal moved on with his life and became at least a semi-successful stunt man
http://thefall-locations.blogspot.com/
pretty awesome
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