Falling Down

To start with, "Falling Down" is a powerful and dramatic condemnation of American society, communal corruption, and the deteriorating values of the West. The film is not for everyone and will most certainly cause offence to some people, but if approached with a clear open mind, will provide ample food for thought to all those that reside in the western world.

The story gets us underway as a weary and frustrated man William Foster (Michael Douglas) is driving to see his daughter on her birthday, having recently been laid off from his job, the slow decay of his life spirals downwards as it affects not only him, but all those people around him.

Everyday occurrences which most of us witness, such as traffic jams and grid locked streets, breathing in smoke and exhaust fumes, polluted streets, unwarranted conflict from construction workers and bad tempered motorists, along with stifling temperatures and a general feeling of being at war with the city, add to the frustrations of… more »

To start with, "Falling Down" is a powerful and dramatic condemnation of American society, communal corruption, and the deteriorating values of the West. The film is not for everyone and will most certainly cause offence to some people, but if approached with a clear open mind, will provide ample food for thought to all those that reside in the western world.

The story gets us underway as a weary and frustrated man William Foster (Michael Douglas) is driving to see his daughter on her birthday, having recently been laid off from his job, the slow decay of his life spirals downwards as it affects not only him, but all those people around him.

Everyday occurrences which most of us witness, such as traffic jams and grid locked streets, breathing in smoke and exhaust fumes, polluted streets, unwarranted conflict from construction workers and bad tempered motorists, along with stifling temperatures and a general feeling of being at war with the city, add to the frustrations of having an alienated wife and only child with limited visiting rights. An extremely disparaging and unbalanced state of mind, and the aggravation of being redundant with no marketable skills, set against the corrupt backdrop of modern day L.A where if you are "Not economically viable" you are of no use to society, then the outcome is "Falling Down".

Abandoning his car in a deluge of jammed streets, he attempts to walk home, and tries to right the wrongs that have been done to him and in his trudge across a hot stifling and dusty Los Angeles he becomes an anti-hero. This story shows us what happens to one individual when he finally snaps. Along the way, Foster comes face to face with various character types: the out of luck bum who is really just a lowlife looking to squeeze some quick cash by harassing park strollers, an insensitive Korean grocery store owner, a homophobic pro-nazi army surplus retail store owner, a cantankerous country club golf player, weird friendly fast food workers, heavily tattooed Hispanic thugs, and so the list goes on. Confrontation with each one will chip away at what remains of his patience and tolerance, fuelling a storming rampage.

Tracking Foster's path of turmoil through the city is Prendergast (Robert Duvall), a veteran cop who has felt many of the same torments as Foster, but who serves as a sort of foil to him. Foster has lost everything, and while Prendergast also has a life of misgivings, married to a wife who is close to being schizophrenic, his only daughter having died years ago under inexplicable circumstances, he still retains some optimism, composure, and dignity in dealing with his job. As Prendergast, who is on his last day as a police officer, begins to put together the pieces of the mystifying crime spree plaguing the city, he seems to be the only one intelligent enough to recognize it's all the action of one man. Some will see this as the chronicle of a dignified, honest man who modern society has crushed, and who desperately tries to struggle against the tyranny and betrayal. Some will see Foster as an absurd lunatic who needs to be stopped. Very few people I think will find that Foster doesn't warrant some sympathy in his plight.

An intense film with plenty of violence, humour and excellent observation of modern society.

We have all been there. We go into McDonalds and get a burger only to get a squashed mess that looks nothing like what they show us on TV. Same thing happens to Michael Douglas in this film and like us, he is not happy with this.

Only difference is he has a gun.

That pretty much sets the tone for the entire film

This film is a spot-on social commentary about a man slowly descending into madness on a single day as he tries to make his way home. He just wants to be left alone but unfortunately he meets a lot of confrontational people who think they can bully him around. I'm sure we can all say we've met some of these people at some point in our lives, but Michael Douglass fights back and although initially you feel he is a man who is only standing up for injustice, he gets more and more extreme along the way, slowly crossing the line and becoming a dangerous criminal.

Another plot running alongside this story is Robert Duvall's retiring police officer who on… more »

We have all been there. We go into McDonalds and get a burger only to get a squashed mess that looks nothing like what they show us on TV. Same thing happens to Michael Douglas in this film and like us, he is not happy with this.

Only difference is he has a gun.

That pretty much sets the tone for the entire film

This film is a spot-on social commentary about a man slowly descending into madness on a single day as he tries to make his way home. He just wants to be left alone but unfortunately he meets a lot of confrontational people who think they can bully him around. I'm sure we can all say we've met some of these people at some point in our lives, but Michael Douglass fights back and although initially you feel he is a man who is only standing up for injustice, he gets more and more extreme along the way, slowly crossing the line and becoming a dangerous criminal.

Another plot running alongside this story is Robert Duvall's retiring police officer who on Douglas' trail. Along the way he reviews his career decisions and feels he still has some unresolved business with the force.

These two stories work well together and make the final confrontation between the two all the more compelling.

This film will make you laugh and it will make you think. It will stick with you for a long time.

Joel Schumacher became a star for me with this urban masterpiece. A brilliant piece of cinema that gives us Michael Douglas' finest performance ever. He manages to be sad, crazy, confused, evil, and in extreme mental anguish for most of the film, and by the end, he has really lost it.
The film was a story of one man's decent into madness for me and the rage that all of us surely feel a lot of the time with a world that continues to test us, but alas it is of our own making. it was extraordinarily thought-provoking and the scene where his character, known only as D-fense for most of it, but is actually Bill Foster, comes face to face with Frederic Forests' disturbing neo-nazi is a truly unnerving moment that twists the film from a sad black comedy into something far more sinister.
The film ends on a sad note, with Bill being shot by Robert Duvall's brilliant turn as the cop on his trail, and Bill asking 'I'm the bad guy? How'd that happen?' But it makes you realise how easy… more »

Joel Schumacher became a star for me with this urban masterpiece. A brilliant piece of cinema that gives us Michael Douglas' finest performance ever. He manages to be sad, crazy, confused, evil, and in extreme mental anguish for most of the film, and by the end, he has really lost it.
The film was a story of one man's decent into madness for me and the rage that all of us surely feel a lot of the time with a world that continues to test us, but alas it is of our own making. it was extraordinarily thought-provoking and the scene where his character, known only as D-fense for most of it, but is actually Bill Foster, comes face to face with Frederic Forests' disturbing neo-nazi is a truly unnerving moment that twists the film from a sad black comedy into something far more sinister.
The film ends on a sad note, with Bill being shot by Robert Duvall's brilliant turn as the cop on his trail, and Bill asking 'I'm the bad guy? How'd that happen?' But it makes you realise how easy it is to lose your way in modern life, and just how underestimated stress really is nowadays.
By the way, it became my all time favourite film until another one even better came along. Unforgettable.