Legends of 'The Fall'

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(by Stacey Rynders - June 18, 2008)

From the previews, you might think that The Fall is a magical realism film much like Pan’s Labyrinth or Like Water For Chocolate, but it’s not.

Instead The Fall captivates the imagination in a similar way, but is less intense with a much more accessible and comical plot featuring newcomer actors that capture the heart.

The Fall tells the story of an unlikely pair — a young, immigrant girl, Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), and a budding actor, Roy Walker (Lee Pace). Set in 1915 in Los Angeles, both Alexandria and Roy are in a hospital, a quaint little compound of activity. Alexandria has a broken arm from a fall while working in the orange groves, while Roy is paralyzed from the waist down from a film stunt gone wrong.

A curious child, Alexandria stumbles upon Roy, who coaxes her to return again and again to visit him by telling her fantastical stories about five unlikely, yet honorable bandits. The story mesmerizes Alexandria, whose doctors insist on keeping her at the hospital so that she is not put back to work in the orange groves before her injury mends.

Roy is heartbroken and avoiding a second surgery to mend his back, which could remedy his paralyzed legs. His girlfriend has left him for a richer, more popular actor, and because of that Roy would prefer to be dead. In his pursuit of death, Roy fires Alexandria’s imagination with a glorious tale in exchange for her excursions to steal morphine for him.

Despite this somewhat ominous overview, The Fall is a comical and endearing film that conjures laughter and smiles much more often than it inflicts somber notes.

In its brief span, The Fall shares the bittersweet friendship of Alexandria and Roy, one of those too short gifts of deep friendship that forever glows on as one of life’s most memorable experiences.

Shot on location in more than 18 countries, The Fall has breathtaking landscapes and colorful characters in its fantastical, storytelling sequences. Unlike many films that work hard to weave fantasy sequences into the plot making the two realities almost indistinguishable, The Fall keeps them entirely separate — and to good effect.
The humorous and glorious story, narrated by Roy, is obviously puppeteered by the main characters. The fantasy is full of vibrant costumes and quirky characters that are just as crucial to the resounding satisfaction of the film as Alexandria and Roy, who are also navigating their own life transitions, both stuck in a wondrous state of physical and emotional disrepair.

The plot of the fantasy can change abruptly with a protest from young Alexandria, whose broken English is another source of wit. So precious and innocent is Alexandria that Roy quickly finds himself an older-brother figure to the fatherless girl.

And as much as Roy does not want to fall for the young girl’s charm, he soon finds himself as bewitched by Alexandria as the hospital staff is.

Untaru with her apple cheeks and inquisitive eyes has an on-screen charm and sweetness akin to Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine. Untaru, however, one-ups Breslin with a bilingual performance and an unexpected maturity in portraying, with impeccable comic timing, a child in the process of learning English.
Pace offers two different performances in The Fall. The first is his larger-than-life alter ego as “The Blue Bandit” in the fantasy sequences, and the second is his role as the charming yet cowardly Roy. Together, Pace and Untaru create a believable connection that carries the film.

The Fall’s appeal certainly outstrips that of many of the larger studio films that are in circulation at the moment. The comedy is more old school, drawing on the early Chaplin-era cinematography circa 1915, in which the film is set.

The human connection also resonates, while the imagery is filled with light, color and an airiness that is reminiscent of a summer getaway or vacation. Director and co-writer Tarsem of The Cell fame does well in weaving the story of The Fall, making it a must-catch film. See it before it gets away.

The Fall is playing at the Tivoli Theatre, located at 6350 Delmar Blvd.

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