Film Reviews

The Fall

• Rating:
• Director: Tarsem Singh
• Starring: Catinca Untaru
• Details: India/UK/USA / 117mins / (TBC)

Directed by acclaimed cinematographer Tarsem Singh (he's responsible for REM's Losing My Religion), The Fall was always going to be beautiful to look at, but because it's written by him too (along with Dan Gilroy, who between them have penned the forgettable Two For The Money and The Cell), the story was never going to be much cop. It's not for the want of trying, though, but it looks like they tried too hard. Set in a LA hospital in the twenties, the plot sees an injured stuntman (Pace) regale a little girl (Untaru) of a story involving five mythical heroes and their quest to kill their common enemy. But the story begins to influence reality and vice versa... Nicking its plot from the 1981 Bulgarian film Yo Ho Ho, its humorous tone from The Princess Bride, the magic realism from Pan's Labyrinth, the jaw-dropping locations from Baraka, and the heroes with different skills from, eh, Dungeons & Dragons, The Fall may not be the most original film in the world, but there's too many lovely and wondrous moments (the swimming elephant, the butterfly that turns into an island, the blue city, and the palace in the lake) to focus on its faults. Pace, doubling up as one of the heroes in the story, works best when he's stuck in the hospital bed, leaving 11-year-old Untaru to give the plot the emotional weight. She does, in a natural performance that belies her age. It might be too light for adults and too dark for kids (some of the images can be terrifying to young eyes) and The Fall might fall between two stools, but damn it it's gorgeous.

Review by Gavin Burke