Falling Down (Review)

falling_downD-Fens (Michael Douglas) is “Going home”. And woe betide any sucker who stands in his short sleeved business shirted way.

Apparently in Los Angeles on this particular day, that’s just about every scumbag, low life and depraved individual you could think of. As D-Fens (unnamed for 90% of the film) makes a bee-line for what he considers home, he must confront gang-bangers, neo-nazis, homies and any number of ornery types, all intent on fogging up his glasses and having his pocket pen pouch pulsate in rage.

Robert Duvall plays Prendergast, the clichéd ‘cop on his last day’, single handedly piecing together the reality when all victims come in with the same story while everyone else dismisses his theory. Rachel Ticotin plays Prendergast’s partner, Barbara Hershey D-Fens’ ex-wife.

Director Joel Schumacher was never the most subtle sort, and while he stops short of Crash style ‘everyone is racist’ buffoonery, the brakes take a while to lock in. Unfortunately for a long while it seems that the film wants us to sympathise with the guy with the bat beating suckers down, just because they’re bad too – even though he is hell bent on getting to a residence where the occupants are terrified of him. No dice.

They tried to make me side with Adam Sandler the possibly schizophrenic in Punch Drunk Love because he wanted true love. They tried to get me to side with the old racist in Gran Torino just because he liked potato salad and had an equally racist barber friend. They can try all they like to buy my empathy with dead gang members and Nazi douches, but you must forgive me if I refuse to root for the murdering sociopath – even if he is white and works in an office…

Final Rating – 6 / 10. Another film where 27 wrongs apparently make one guy right. Or maybe the cynic in me thinks they meant ‘One white bad guy proves 27 other non-white bad guys wrong’.

About OGR

While I try to throw a joke or two into proceedings when I can all of the opinions presented in my reviews are genuine. I don't expect that all will agree with my thoughts at all times nor would it be any fun if you did, so don't be shy in telling me where you think I went wrong... and hopefully if you think I got it right for once. Don't be shy, half the fun is in the conversation after the movie.
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