Fall (1997)

One of my all time favorites.

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Go on bing.com search 'supermodel'.. then do a search for her.. nuf said. She's a pin-up, no way near a true runway supermodel. And then you look at him, the cab driver, and there's no scenario where a true life fashion mag icon is going for him as a full time love partner (they barely do that anyway with anyone.. they're so much into themselves). That's the problem with this film.. the premise just does not hold up in the real world. Label her something different and maybe they get away with it, but as it stands, it just doesn't float. And really seeing that's the basis of the entire film, a six rating is being more than generous, actually a five would be more accurate.

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.

I cried. And cried and cried. Some films simply remind you of relationships, others evoke emotional experiences (should you have any) for relationships gone south, some tease you with relationships that might have been. "Fall" incorporates all of these. First off, my primary recollection from the 3 or 4 times I've enjoyed watching "Fall" is the ending. Sarah is in Paris, exiting some chic place with Phillipe. Michael, who has flown to Paris in desperate need to re-connect with her, tracks her down (magically) and sees her exiting. He looks at her, she looks at him, she non-verbally gestures "no, don't connect with me any more"--- and he breaks down in sobs. As do I, even as I'm writing this. The longing for true love on his face—the yearning for a love than can never be fully returned—is one of the best, if not THE best, portrayal of unrequited love I have ever seen in any film. Bar none. Heart-breaking sobs. You, who berate this film for Eric Schaeffer's self-indulgence and egoism, must never have felt this type of unrequited love, and for you I feel sorry (or not—I guess it's easier to be ignorant in love but wise in film criticism). For the rest of us, he struck a chord that is rarely approached in film. Forget the strap-on, dismiss the socioeconomic disconnect, don't fret over the boastfulness—this film simply nailed that painful yearning for true love that some romantics still treasure. The dialog touches many of us as personally poignant but that "film" critics interpret as trite. I could wax eloquent about the cinematography—especially one scene where Sarah is walking past a piece d'art depicting waves (get the metaphor, duh!) with an equivalently apt soundtrack—but the arrogant, non-romantic film critics would dismiss this as being self-indulgent. You know, sometimes we need self-indulgence—especially when it comes to relationships! Give me those scenes that touch my heart, expand my senses, and evoke my passion. If you want to be really TOUCHED by a film, see Fall. You won't be disappointed (unless you've taken Film Criticism 101, in which case cynicism trumps romanticism).

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.