One of the most beautiful things ever put on the big screen. On the other hand, the story is far too thin for adults, and far too dark for kids.
The Fall (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:97
Fresh:58
Rotten:39
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: More visually elaborate than the fragmented story can sometimes support, The Fall walks the line between labor of love and filmmaker self-indulgence.
Theatrical Release:00-00-0000
Synopsis: Award-winning music video, commercial and film director Tarsem Singh (The Cell) creates a moving and seamless blending of mundane life in a 1915 Los Angeles hospital with a visually sumptuous... Award-winning music video, commercial and film director Tarsem Singh (The Cell) creates a moving and seamless blending of mundane life in a 1915 Los Angeles hospital with a visually sumptuous fantasy world of exotic bandits, evil tyrants, dream-like palaces and breathtaking landscapes. Shot on location in 28 countries around the world, The Fall stars Golden Globe nominated actor Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies, Infamous, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) and Justine Waddell (Mansfield Park, Chaos) and features a breakthrough performance by first-time Romanian child actress Catinca Untaru. --© Roadside Attractions [More]
Starring: Lee Pace, Justine Waddell, Daniel Caltagirone, Leo Bill
Starring: Lee Pace, Justine Waddell, Daniel Caltagirone, Leo Bill
Director: Tarsem
Director: Tarsem
Studio: Roadside Attractions
Reviews for The Fall
The film may look a treat in a static kind of way but the whole is a piece of turgid pictorialism that ends up unbearably dull.
While nice to look at, it’s also a very tedious slice of magical realism lacking in tension, suspense and, indeed, magic.
Beguiling, befuddling, brilliant. It’s sure to divide audiences but, for all its ocular opulence and wild fantasy, at heart The Fall is a tender, touching tale about childhood, hope and the power of story.
But The Fall defies low expectations, proving the director can now partner his exquisite pictures with a ripping yarn.
The Fall is hugely ambitious, but ultimately it's just an intriguing folly.
Does The Fall amount to anything more than a vast sugar-frosted folly? I'm not convinced it does, although its wanton extravagance is not without charm. Singh has money to burn and he builds a pretty bonfire.
The visuals that illustrate the fairytale fantasy are extraordinary. But the film has none of the menacing brilliance of Pan’s Labyrinth. The result is a triumph of style over talent.
A must-watch for lovers of the strange and unusual, this visually ravishing oddball drama has sequences of genuine beauty and charm - even if it won't be to everyone's taste.
The pacing drags and the clichéd tussle between childhood innocence and adult disillusionment can only go one way. Better to experience it than think about it, fair to say.
Tarsem’s film is breathtakingly imaginative, but at times you’re left feeling like you’ve eaten too many sweets.
Enjoyable, well acted and visually stunning fantasy drama that is sure to divide audiences but is unlike anything else you'll see all year.
I wonder if it's unforgivable heresy to say The Cell is badly underestimated and due for revisionism while The Fall, despite its relative obscurity, is badly overestimated.
...a movie that not only expected me to pay attention, it assumed that I could.
The girl and the hospital patients and staff also turn up in his improvised adventure, extravagantly garbed by costume designer Eiko Ishioka.
Something like a Sir David Lean epic crossed with trippy offshoots of tall tales of Zorro, Ali Baba and Pecos Bill rolled into one, The Fall is a sun-kissed companion to Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. A brilliant follow-up from Tarsem Singh.
Tarsem has found a home for his endlessly unique visions, and (wouldn't you know?) it's beyond artifice and stealing toward art.
Latest News for The Fall
December 08, 2008:
Roger Ebert Ranks 2008's 20 Best Films ![]()
December isn't even halfway over yet, and many of us have already had our fill of year-end lists -- but Roger Ebert's list of the 20 best films of 2008 is one worth making an... More...
October 06, 2008:
Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 2
Its otherworldly story split critics down the middle, but none can argue with the power of its imagery. Continuing our exclusive look at the stunning visuals of Tarsem's The... More...
October 03, 2008:
Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 1
Its otherworldly story split critics down the middle, but none can argue with the power of its imagery. Opening in the UK this week, Tarsem's The Fall is one of the year's most... More...
October 03, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: How To Lose Friends & Alienate People Does Just That; Whilst Brideshead Revisited Is Resisted
In the UK cinemas this week we have two literary adaptations with Simon Pegg as an irksome hack in How To Lose Friends & Alienate People, and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited... More...
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