Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another underrated film by Mr. Schaeffer., February 28, 2005
Eric Schaeffer's follow up to "If Lucy Fell" (1996) has a maturity to it entirely different than "Lucy." While Lucy was more of a juicy romantic comedy, Fall, which is not lacking in the laugh department, is a far more serious character study/analysis of an improbable romance and the effect it has on each of the parties involved in it.
Schaeffer always seems to be playing himself in his films (or at least always the same character) which is fine by me. I always enjoy his work and his welcome combination of superego, no-nonsense directness and comic brilliance.
As supermodel Sarah, Ms. deCadenet gives a strong performance, slowly yielding, then coming 'round the bend and surprising herself by truly falling for Schaeffer's character, the charming cab driver, Michael. But true to her word, she ends up breaking not only Michael's heart, but her own as well.
As always with an adulterous affair, things are bound to get messy and they do. The acceptance of the affairs ultimate resolution by both characters is handled better than most romantic movies - a genre, I admittedly have little tolerance for. Unless its an Eric Schaeffer "romance" of course!
Schaeffer has filled this screenplay with stunning poetry, which grows and blossoms in intensity until the final poem which ends the film providing an emotional climax that is entirely satisfying without being sappy or maudlin and never feeling manipulative or false.
As with "Lucy", look out for a very young Scarlett Johansson in the role of "Little Girl."
A quite remarkable little movie.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Many a Tear Has to Fall", May 17, 2005
If you've never fallen hard, this film won't be for you. It's for all the rest of us who have loved and lost. Amanda De Cadenet isn't a natural actress, but she's filled with the joy of living and had wonderful reactions to everything. She makes you believe that, even though she has the magnetic Phillipe in her corner, she might still feel a little bit empty inside when she wakes up in the morning. As for Eric, well, the jury is out on him. I have found that most movie fans (who have seen his work) hate him, especially if they are guys. Women, it seems, have a higher Schaeffer tolerance. I think he's great myself, but I can see how his manner might put off some people, plus if you're not from New York you're not going to get the whole Eric Schaeffer gestalt. He's super talented and FALL, I think, is his best picture.
Genre fans remember the actor playing "Philippe," Rudolf Martin, from his several appearances on Fox's "24" and prior to that, he made a memorable Dracula on the "Buffy vs. Dracula" episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Martin makes the role his own, here, and doesn't use any tricks to put across his version of the cuckolded European, bamboozled by Sarah's search for true love.
You might also like IF LUCY FELL if you like this one. Schaeffer's more recent efforts inbclude the bizarre WIREY SPINDELL, which is sort of like what DECONSTRUCTING HARRY was for the career of Woody Allen, and the newish MIND THE GAP, nearly an anthology film like DEAD OF NIGHT or O HENRY'S FULL HOUSE. FALL is another kettle of fish, a swooning, fullblown passionate romance; it's like something the late great Max Ophuls might have made in another era with Joan Fontaine and James Mason.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A phenomenal film that virtually noone has seen, April 12, 2004
Not out on DVD, hard to find on VHS, and no soundtrack available, "Fall" would seem to be one of those movies that just disappears into oblivion.... until you talk to anyone who has watched it. A love story that is both all too fictitious and all too real, you will find yourself enslaved between the hearts of a taxi cab driver, and a supermodel. Eric Schaffer's beautifully languid poetry will stun your senses and settle in your heart for an eternity. Fresh, witty and sexy, "Fall" is an experience all to itself. This film was passed on to me, and I in turn have passed it on to many.... All who felt its magnificance equally.... now I'm passing it on to you... Buy it, watch it, and keep the circle going....
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