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Falling DownRating:
Release Date: 15 August, 2000 Retail Price: $12.98 OUR Price: $11.99 You SAVE: $0.99! Cast: Complete Cast (12 total) |
Falling Down Reviews
Urban Rage as only Douglas Can Bring It
One of the things I enjoy about Michael Douglas is his versatility at playing the white-male-power archetype. From Wall Street to The Game to War of the Roses (with the exception of Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile), he plays roles that critique and perpetuate ideas about white masculine power and the consequences of emasculation.
In Falling Down, we see Douglas (in my opinion) in one of his better moments playing a working class, seething, neurasthenic average Joe named William Foster who goes on a downward spiral into moral vigilantism in La La Land (LA). Disgusted with what he sees as the flaws of society, Foster (Douglas) goes on a one man battle through the streets of LA to visit his estranged wife and daughter. Traffic jams, heat, high-priced goods in a Korean convenient store, gang violence, and road construction are among some of the many things that Foster responds to as he journeys back to the peaceful life he once had with his ex-wife (Barbara Hershey). The only thing is that Foster never had a peaceful life with Beth (Hershey). He believes in an ideal that is virtually unattainable for him.
Robert Duvall (Det. Martin Prendergast) plays opposite Douglas as a retiring robbery detective who is given one last moment to protect and serve before migrating to Arizona with his needy and emotionally fragile wife (Tuesday Weld). Essentially, Prendergast is Foster's nemesis and the only one who consequently understands his rage.
Overall, I think this film is an interesting commentary on masculinity, xenophobia, race, and "urban life" during the Bush I administration in the early 1990s.
A Black Comedy about a Demented White Man
For some reason I missed seeing this movie when it came out, and just now (July 2006) got around to watching it on DVD. I've been catching up on movies I missed in the theatre, and "Falling Down" is among the best of them.
Yes, it's contrived and a bit preachy, but the acting is marvelous, and Bill "D-FENS" Foster's adventures as he walks through 1993 Los Angeles are laden with moments where we can't help but cheer him on. The scene in the burger store is classic. Who among us hasn't wanted to strangle some officious little prick who tells us we missed the breakfast menu by three minutes?
If it were possible I'd give "Falling Down" 4.5 stars, but that's not possible on Amazon. It's really a very good movie, but not quite up there in the realm of greatness. While we sympathize with Foster's SITUATION, we can't really empathize with Foster himself, because he's clearly demented and becomes increasingly so as the movie progresses. Another minor flaw: many of the people Bill encounters are stereotypes (the Hispanic gangsters, the Nazi surplus store guy, the burger joint staff, etc.) and his reactions to various frustrations are often absurd.
Still, it's a sharp, insightful and enjoyable flick. If you haven't seen it, it's worth seeking out!
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