A troubling finale on the consequences of an individual's despair reflecting a whole community,don't forget the unpredictably powerful threshold sequence.The real totalitarian regime is debunked by one man in the face of the undeniably marvelous Michael Douglas yet Schumacher's social commentary is considered weak to a Godard revolt and a Leone vigilante mercenary,the yuppie turned Robin Hood (the police sheriffs) and Rambo of anarchy is a welcome point of view but just that and nothing monumental.
The criminally under-rated Douglas tears it up in this, 'man on the edge' thriller. About a man in the midst of a break down making his way from his car (which he leaves sitting in the middle of a motor-way traffic jam) to his ex-wife's house to try to see his daughter on her birthday causing mayhem as he goes. If you havn't seen this already you really must. Duvall supports in fine form.
Incredible movie. Probably Shumacher's most profound work.
Falling Down is 1h50 of "revolt against the modern world". A licenced man on a hot day gets pissed off once too much by society and gets to the point of no return where he has nothing else to lose. Divorced, forbidden to see his daughter on her birthday, out of a job, living with his mother, blocked in a traffic jam under an excruciating sun he wanders off. Tired of high prices, mugged by an ethnic gang, disrespected by fast food employees and construction workers, he litterally goes berserk on everything thats wrong with today's world. The streets full of unconsiderate assholes and bums make the world all the more detestable and Michael Douglas plays this anti-hero with brilliance. And the only man he can relate to is the other black guy in a suit who yells his demise about not being "economically viable".
This movie reminds me of these videos we see on the net of people going crazy breaking their computers because of their shitty office jobs.
Falling Down is a very original movie and I highly recommend it.
"What the hell are you trying to do? Kill me with a golf ball? Its not enough you got all of these beautifull acres spent for your little game, but have to kill me with a golf ball? You should have children playing here, you should have families having picnic, you should have a God damn petting zoo! Instead you have these stupid electric carts for you old men! Nothing better to do?!"
Michael Douglas gives an excellent performance here as a seemingly ordinary man who snaps under pressure and goes on a psychotic rampage armed with baseball bats and a gym bag full of guns. While being convincing as a madman, Douglas gives the character a human edge while Robert Duvall as the cop on his tail is also excellent. An edgy and unpredictable thriller.
With direction from king of the hacks Joel Schumacher and starring Michael Douglas, I really shouldn't like this film but it is easily Douglas' best role. Normally I find him arrogant, self obsessed and utterly unsympathetic. Here, as an average Joe suffering a mental break, feeling under siege from the modern world he is actually pretty damn good. He adeptly walks the tightrope between garnering sympathy for his inability to cope with where his life has taken him and the underlying menace of his psychotic tendencies with genuine subtlety. Unfortunately this subtlety is lost in Schumacher's direction which schizophrenically veers between showing him as an ordinary man doing the things we'd all like to do once in a while and showing him as a dangerous lunatic. The script however contains plenty of black humour, and you can't help but cheer him on as he makes a stand against the hypocrisies of everyday life we are all faced with. It doesn't really make any coherent social point but it's an entertainingly off beat thriller that although lacking in any real tension, is different enough to stand out from the crowded marketplace of Hollywood thrillers.
Michael Douglas as most people never have seen him, eerily sinister and fed up with a life that is in the absolute pits. Scary, realistic, tangible. Very well done.
Not really as much a vigillante film as much as simply one man's story about being fed-up with the world around him on his way home. Whether it's a case of self-defense (threatened by gangs while making a phone call), going way overboard over little things (pulling out a gun at a fast food joint) or just plain bad luck (running into the brilliantly psychotic Frederic Forrest in a military surplus shop), the film goes back-and-forth in trying to make him out to be both the villain and the victim. One of Douglas' most mistunderstood role, but perhaps the one I most remember him for.
The best "snapping" movie of all time. I have to pull this one out every now and then to rewatch it. A masterpiece in its own way, though obviously not the epitome of film as art
This movie falling down was very sad and very good at the same time. Michael
Dougless does a wonderful job in this movie he acts like some tough son of a bitch but in reality he is scared of what might be thrown at him next
An intense urban adventure that escalates in vengeful righteousness. Under such unprovoked stress, its only fair to cheer William onward during each vindicating scene. While most of the scenarios he encounters are burdensome, the film is uplifting due to the familial content. The racial and homophobic epithets are quite extreme, displaying the discourse it causes in an otherwise homogenized society. Douglas' initially meek character grows to embody the frustration felt by many inner city-lifers, including myself. Duvall contributes a nearly-retired cop role, who pieces together the string of incidents and returns balance to William's family. It's incredible to see (then) 49-year-old Michael Douglas in such a physically demanding role, while portraying a character someone in his late 30's. The tempo slows during the final scene, justly closing the story for an almost peaceful ending.
Michael Douglas plays a hard working engineer who was recently laid off from his job. His car breaks down on the freeway, send him on a journey of new self discovery and social commentary.
Directed by: Joel Schumacher. Starring: Michael Douglas, Rachel Ticotin, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey.
<< "Give me your other hand"..."I can't"..."Why not?"..."Gravity"..."Gravity? What the fuck does that mean?"..."I'll fall down." >>
The story follows Bill (aka D-FENS...no he ain't a rapper, thank god), an unemployed, divorced engineer who takes revenge on the various flaws in society over the course of a day.
What a great plotline, no doubt there. Its something that could be done countless ways and its hard to see Michael Douglas in the leading role...but I couldn't see anyone else pull off what he did here.
I'm shocked to say that this is Joel Schumacher's best film. Sure he's had the odd rare good film, but he doesn't exactly have a name for himself after so many failures, but he brings the right amount of visual flair and attention to this interesting concept, from the interesting and realistic perception of a typical gang ridden neighborhood to the simple irritations of everyday life. The script is solid but flawed beyond anything. This everyday man does so many out there things, yet manages to avoid cops right until the end, but the script just wants to have fun and its certainly does that. It raises some thoughtful questions on the average society and the system and it gives up a central character that is like any of us to start off with, who fights back...and its all tightly wrapped with some great thrills and thoughtful comedy.
Michael Douglas performance is the best of his career, out beating his 'Oscar winning roles'. He has the everyman look to start off with, but he soon delves into his characters tortured psyche and its a great performance to see unfold, even when your not sure what to feel for the character.
Falling Down is certainly a great film, something that certainly delivers the entertainment value and raises typical questions on society...and even though its clearly flawed, its never dull and Michael Douglas is just great. A great watch.
Excellent observational movie. Douglas gives his best performance of his career, he completely embodies D-FENS and his problems with society. Yet, not only does Douglas excell, but pretty much everyone involved with this picture.
I love this movie! One of Michael Douglas's best performances. Michael Douglas does things in this movie that we have all wanted to do at one point or another.
strong performance by Douglas..typical even performance by Duvall...talk about going over the edge and having a bd day!! Interesting character study about what happens once that tripwire is triggered....
Michal Douglas is almost unrecognisable in this film as he plays a 'working stiff' who snaps one day on his way home from work (which is odd seeing as its 8am) he leaves his car in a traffic jam and decideds to walk home through gangland LA (I Think). At first you sympathise with his character but he gets more and more off his rocker and you agree that retiring cop played by Rober Duvall must stop him. Some of the scenarios Douglas's character gets himself into are hilarious and its a very watchable film.
I'm the bad guy???? FECK NO YOU AREN'T that stinkin cop annoyed the hell out of me this film is so funny, Michael Douglas does absolutely awesome probably my favourite performance from him.
One of those great films where the bad guy is the hero, you want him to get away with everything but you know he's going down! One of Micky D's finest performance!
MCT:September 26, 2008
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