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The Fall
While director Tarsem Singh has spent the majority of his career working on music videos (most notably R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion") and commercials (for everyone from Pepsi to Mercedes to Levi's), his first feature film, "The Cell," was a dazzling visual adventure into the mind of a serial killer. Rather than assaulting the audience with AVID-farts and non-stop explosions like former music video director Michael Bay, Tarsem makes each shot worthy of being shown in any art gallery. With his latest film, "The Fall," Tarsem has taken every visual idea that's been building up inside his head over the film's 20-plus year development and let loose upon celluloid. Every location in the film is not only breathtaking but also real. No CGI was used to make the sets or filming locations, which is rather refreshing in today's era of greenscreens and virtual soundstages.
Despite the countless amount of words that could continue about every one of Singh's meticulously planned shots, the film's story is nothing to push to the side. Set at a Los Angeles hospital in 1915, young Alexandria (newcomer Catinca Untaru) meets a paralyzed stuntman (Lee Pace) who tells her fantastical stories in order to get her to steal morphine from the hospital's dispensary. A lot of morphine. The chemistry between Pace and Untaru is beautiful, and the fact that Untaru had never acted in anything before "The Fall" helps, making her performance real because she doesn't know how to "act."
Full of sumptuous visuals and a heartbreaking story, "The Fall" is without a doubt Singh's crowning achievement thus far. To truly appreciate the film's epic visuals, it's best to see it on the biggest screen possible. "The Fall" is now playing at AMC Barton Creek and Regal Arbor Cinema.
Check out the Texan tomorrow for an interview with the film's
director.
The Strangers
When things go bump in the night, most of the time it's just the house settling or a squirrel running across the roof. In "The Strangers," the things that go bump are three masked assailants who want nothing more than to terrorize their victims. Writer/director Bryan Bertino (a UT alumnus) has decided to forego the gore and take the film back to the roots of horror, making the scares more about anticipation and tension rather than grossing out the audience.
Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman play a couple retreating to his family's country house for what was supposed to be a romantic getaway. But after Tyler turns down Speedman's proposal, the weekend is pretty much dead in the water. Then there's a knock at the door and everything goes downhill from there. Bertino utilizes the widescreen frame to set up slow scares. There's a shot (seen in the trailer and TV spots) where Liv Tyler is in the foreground and in the background one of the masked assailants merely walks into frame and stares. The shot is more terrifying than anything Eli Roth offered with "Hostel II."
Anyone hoping for an explanation or well-delivered monologue about why these people are trying to scare the hell out of Tyler and Speedman should steer clear of this film. The only hint of an explanation is offered in one chilling line toward the end that hints at something much sicker than most serial killer motives. While "The Strangers" doesn't reinvent the horror genre, it certainly is a breath of fresh air and makes for a good night out. Just be sure to lock your doors when you get home.
