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Fall, The
Roadside Attractions


8.1

based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 29 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

The Cell

MPAA RATING: R for some violent images

Starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, and Julian Bleach

Los Angeles, circa 1920s: A little immigrant girl finds herself in a hospital recovering from a fall. She strikes up a friendship with a bedridden man, who captivates her with a whimsical story that removes her far from the hospital doldrums into the exotic landscapes of her imagination. Making sure he keeps the girl interested in the story, he interweaves her family and people she likes from the hospital into his tale. (Roadside Attractions)

GENRE(S):	Adventure \| Drama \| Fantasy
WRITTEN BY:	Valeri Petrov (1981 screenplay Yo Ho Ho) Tarsem Singh Nico Soultanakis Dan Gilroy
DIRECTED BY:	Tarsem Singh
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: September 9, 2008 Theatrical: May 9, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	117 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	India \| UK \| USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A movie that you might want to see for no other reason than because it exists. There will never be another like it.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

It's the most glorious, wonderful mess put onscreen since Terry Gilliam's "Brazil."

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A deliciously vivid adventure fantasy.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

The Fall is a movie whose every frame pulsates with the desire to be a transportive, transcendent work of cinema. And each one of said frames is full of visual bedazzlement and wonder. So full that one is loathe to sum up with the phrase "Close, but no cigar." But there is something, finally, kind of pushy about the film's desire to be a masterpiece.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Dazzling and delirious, The Fall is a celebration of cinema, of old-fashioned storytelling and globe-hopping spectacle.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

The Fall is often an affectionate caricature itself, but one of astonishing beauty, featuring two heartfelt performances from Untaru and the tender, often mordantly funny Pace. They're perfect foils for Tarsem's gorgeous tone poem to cinema as a medium of magic and miracles, stories and lies.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

The Fall lives and dies on the strength of Pace and Untaru's remarkable performances. It's there that the pulsing heart of this magical-real film beats most true.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

It's an achingly beautiful movie and a triumph of location scouting, with more cosmopolitan spectacle than the past three Indiana Jones and James Bond movies combined.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Although the film revolves around a child, it's not a children's movie: A cruel and bitter undertone runs through the fanciful adventures, and Walker's depression is no mere plot contrivance to be cured by Alexandria's childish enthusiasm.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The Fall is aptly named not only because it pertains to a tragic descent but because viewers will feel as if they have plunged headlong into an alternate universe with this dazzling adult fairy tale.

Chicago Reader Bill Stamets

Director Tarsem (The Cell) reworks the 1981 Bulgarian film "Yo Ho Ho" for this stylish fantasy.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Some of the set pieces are ravishing, more often they're ravishingly clunky.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The Fall is what you'd get if you told a fiendishly gifted graphic illustrator the plot of "The Princess Bride" and sent him off to come up with his own version.

Village Voice Nick Pinkerton

If the human details are often problematic, the IMAX-grade bombast, ceremonial camera, and Jodorowsky-esque eclecticism still combine for a singular spectacle.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

There's no doubt that Tarsem's a visionary director. Now he needs to envision a worthwhile script for himself.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Pretty pictures - thats what The Fall has to offer.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

It has a rich premise and no lack of amazements. What it lacks in any sort of dramatic shape.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

It's the kind of movie for which the phrase ''you've never seen anything like it before'' was invented. The question is whether anyone would want to.

The Hollywood Reporter John DeFore

Tarsem and his screenwriting collaborators aren't able to come up with enough interesting justifications for their sudden shifts, and soon the shape-shifting yarn just feels like lazy storytelling.

Variety Dennis Harvey

This convoluted, arbitrary, overlong whimsy will strike most grown-ups as childish, and is far too violent and pretentious for kids.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

It's basically a Middle Eastern version of "The Princess Bride" with an assisted-suicide subplot.

Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen

There is never a sense that The Fall exists for any reason besides simply being something nice to look at. Yet no matter how good-looking a film may be, if it's as sleep-inducing as this, there's simply no point.

The New York Times Nathan Lee

A genuine labor of love -- and a real bore.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dave gave it a5:
I have a hard time understanding all the 10's for this film. For me to give a 10, it has to be pretty much flawless, and this film was FAR from that. While it was extremely good visually, the story itself left a lot to be desired. In fact, if it wasn't for the great cinematography, I would probably give it a lower number. This was nowhere near the quality of some of the other films I have seen this year such as The Edge of Heaven, Wall-E, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days or even Iron Man.

Nrg Dude gave it a0:
Major Disappointment! We have been looking forward to this film based on the reviews and trailers only to leave the theater shaking our heads wondering how much lower movies can go. All the good scenes were in the trailer. It totally lacks any real story and leaves you with an empty feeling. After only 20 minutes you could care less about the characters in the movie. The only reason we can see why a critic might like this movie is that *all* movies are so poorly written and lacking in any story arc as to make this one look somewhat good. In a world of blind men, a one-eyed man is king. Save your money.

Mark M. gave it a9:
An absorbing movie worth multiple viewings. The rare movie that presents the world as seen through a child's eyes in a convincing way. More than a little confusing at times (again, multiple viewings).

Matt K gave it a10:
A fantastic movie from a director who I had only previously known from the ridiculous "The Cell." I gave him a second chance with this film and am glad that I did. Besides the amazing visual that even its worst critics agree to be breathtaking, we have a wonderful reality plot juxtaposed by the fantastic story in the background. The story does a great job of showing how the story being told is not necessarily seen as intended, with the young girl's mind making its own decisions on how things visually happen (e.g. the Indian Roy describes is not of the Eastern variety). I agree with Ellen C that this should be seen in the theater if possible, but I will still be purchasing a copy as soon as it is on DVD.

James N. gave it a5:
Beautiful but dumb, and frustrating because the concept could have be astounding. There needed to be less flamboyance, and more plot, and message.

d h gave it a9:
When you were very young; when storybooks were read to you ... do you remember creating worlds so vivid that they were simply real, when you closed your eyes and imagined them to be? The Fall will invite comparisons to Pan's Labyrinth, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and maybe even The Wizard of Oz. It's a grown-up's storybook - a chance for you to sit down, revert back to your childhood, and become engrossed in make-believe again. However, if you've forgotten how to do that, you might have already outgrown this kind of film. This is storytelling as a fine art that not everyone will remember how to appreciate. Filmed in 18 countries over four years, this is also one of the most visually stunning movies I've seen. The symbolic uses color coupled with the rich palette, as well as the minimalist cinematography, create visual emotion like few films ever have. This one's better on the biggest screen you can find. In the end, The Fall is an ode to the magic of cinema.

Donna S gave it a10:
Ingenious tale with vivid imagery. The two main characters work in unison to make the most of unfortunate circumstance. Together, they weave a story that is comical, tragic, adventurous and riveting. The story is told by an adult and the visions are as interpreted by the child....Worth a post movie dinner dissection!

Fall, The Roadside Attractions

Fall, The
Roadside Attractions