The Fall (R) ** | Despite its fantastic images, story falls flat
Posted on Fri, May. 30, 2008
BY RENE RODRIGUEZ
STEPHEN BERKMAN / ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
Justine Waddell plays Princess Evelyn in The Fall.
In 2000's The Cell, the directorial debut of filmmaker Tarsem Singh (or, as he prefers to be called, just Tarsem), Jennifer Lopez chased down a serial killer by walking through a series of elaborate sets best suited for a Bjork music video.
The visuals in The Fall, Tarsem's second, even more eye-popping film, makes The Cell look as shabby as a Beavis and Butt-head cartoon. 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.
Tarsem labored for four years and filmed in 18 countries to complete this surreal fantasy, a loose and infinitely more pretentious remake of the 1981 Bulgarian movie Yo Ho Ho. Tarsem's version is set in 1915 Los Angeles, when the spirited tot Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), recovering in the hospital from a broken arm, befriends the bedridden Roy (Lee Pace), a movie stuntman.
In order to entertain the little girl -- and, in the process, distract himself from his profound depression -- Roy starts to weave a fantastical tale about a quintet of heroes banished to a deserted island who plot revenge against their antagonist, known as Governor Odious.
Alexandria imagines the tale being told with the hospital staff and even Roy himself as the protagonists. There is lots of slow motion, vibrant colors and outlandish sights such as elephants swimming underwater. But instead of from a child's perspective, the imagery often feels like it was born out of a Madison Avenue advertising agency, with the slick, color-coordinated sheen and hollow symbolism of the TV commercials Tarsem began his career making.
The Fall's opening sequence -- the accident that injures Roy in which a locomotive plunges off a bridge -- leaves no question Tarsem has style to burn. It's his skills as a storyteller that need work. This is a stunning coffee-table book, but it's not really a movie. The opening credits for The Fall state it is ''presented'' by David Fincher and Spike Jonze, two other veterans of music videos and TV commercials who have proven themselves in the narrative-film arena. They should take Tarsem aside and have a talk with him.
Cast: Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, Daniel Caltagirone
Director-producer: Tarsem
Screenwriters: Dan Gilroy, Nico Soultanakis, Tarsem
A Roadside Attractions release. Running time: 116 minutes. Brief violence, adult themes. In Miami-Dade: Regal South Beach, Cocowalk; in Broward: Gateway.
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