Fall (2022) Dir: Scott Mann
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Directed by Scott Mann, this 2022 survival thriller had me torn. I'll start with the positives. I loved the soundtrack, it really worked for the film, and honestly, I would gladly listen to it separately. The cinematography is also good, with heavy use of drone footage to create vast visual landscapes, which emphasise the enormity of the structure for which this film is almost entirely based atop of. Now we enter some foggy waters.
The narrative and writing of the film divided me intensely. On one hand, Mann does very well to quietly set up the growing danger, showing the audience, rather than telling them, although it could certainly be argued that he does foreshadow a little too much in the end.
The subplot thoroughly irritated me, it adds an extra layer of drama sure, but it is also incredibly lazy and jarring. I didn't care for it one bit. There are also some very annoying issues with continuity, which took me out of the film multiple times.
The major twist of the film is good, but isn't exactly unpredictable, I've seen a lot of people talking about another survival film, which I won't name in case it spoils the twist of either one, but having seen both, I agree that this feels a little like it took heavy inspiration from it.
Furthermore, at 1 hour and 47 minutes long, this film is easily 20 minutes too long. Mediocre writing drags this one out fat longer than necessary. The CGI is also woeful, another weakness that left me disconnected from what I was watching.
The film's main protagonist is played by Grace Fulton, who goes from believable to extremely unconvincing almost scene to scene, particularly in the first and third acts.
She is accompanied by Virginia Gardner, who is marginally better, in my view, but still has a number of wobbles throughout. I did enjoy her performance on the whole though, it must be said.
Slightly disappointingly, the best performance of the film doesn't come from either of the main protagonists. It comes from supporting cast member, and most recognisable face by far; Jeffrey Dean Morgan. In his very limited time on screen, he portrays his character well, showing the most believable emotions of anyone in the film.
Finally, I'll very quickly mention Mason Gooding. Even though he barely appeared, I felt he was worth noting, as his appearance in the film was reasonably good, particularly in his work with Fulton.
Overall, I realise a lot of what I have spoken about here is negative, but, for what it is worth, I did actually enjoy my time watching this. Sometimes a film doesn't have to be good, to be entertaining. And this certainly falls under this category, for me at least.
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