Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 84 Ratings

  • Starring: Catinca Untaru, Lee Pace
  • Summary: 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) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 23
  2. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. 100
    A movie that you might want to see for no other reason than because it exists. There will never be another like it.
  2. 80
    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.
  3. Reviewed by: Nick Pinkerton
    60
    If the human details are often problematic, the IMAX-grade bombast, ceremonial camera, and Jodorowsky-esque eclecticism still combine for a singular spectacle.
  4. 58
    There's no doubt that Tarsem's a visionary director. Now he needs to envision a worthwhile script for himself.

See all 23 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 41
  2. Negative: 5 out of 41
  1. 10
    After analysing this film and seeing it for a second time I have seen the masterpiece that is the fall. From the foreshadowing and great use of symmetry in the opening scene to the beautiful images of tarsem's sets. Not only is this film great in an artistic way but dramatically it delivers a surprising punch for an art film that's main focus is it's visuals. I strongly recommend everyone to see this film although it is not for everyone. Expand
  2. CharlesM
    8
    Superb visuals. Both the real world as well as the fantasy settings are exotic. Intimate though somewhat disjointed story. Great acting. I actually felt the fact that I could understand only half of what the little girl said added to the exotic flavor of the movie. Expand
  3. ColinD.
    7
    Slow to start, but the ending is worth the wait. The Fall, though not phenomenal, is utterly intense, and sometimes confusing, but at the end of the movie, it comes together like a masterpiece. Though I had heard of this movie, I wasn't sure what to expect, so I decided to check it out and am very pleased that I did. Without a doubt, it's one of those movies that you either love or hate. It's difficult to be on the middle-ground. Expand
  4. JoeR
    1
    Utterly, utterly boring. Nothing but eye candy here.

See all 41 User Reviews

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