Charm without syrup ... a story without preaching ... a powerful tale of redemption without a goofy ending, The Fall.
Set in Hollywood during the earliest days of silent film making, a stunt man and a little girl find themselves in the same hospital, victims of a fall. He's lost the ability to walk; she has a broken collar bone. He's enjoying the Hollywood life; she's an immigrant child who picks fruit with her family.
He's utterly depressed but beguiled by the little girl to whom he starts telling tall tales, working into the stories her family members and experiences, firing her imagination.
But there's a dark side to his regard; he wants the young girl to get into the pharmacy and steal some morphine to "help me sleep," when, in fact, he wants to overdose and end his life. Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, and in this case, the girl misunderstands his instructions and brings him only three pills (she pours the rest out) - not enough to end his misery.
I won't spoil the ending, but suffice to say it ends well, yet without any fairytale embellishment.
The little girl (Catinca Untaru) is stunningly good, playing her role with a genuine innocence, sweetness, that can only come from a real heart. She comes to love the story teller (Lee Pace) who, in turn, comes to love her, too, in spite of his depression and the subsequent guilt he feels in the light of her purity.
The film moves wonderfully from hospital to story - the tallest of tall tales; improbable and exciting, done with limited special effects, revealing the mind of a child pure in its loves and hopes ... and strikingly courageous.
Filmed in 16 different locations - South Africa, South Pacific, Indonesia, China, Egypt, Nepal, to mention just a few.
Glorious music, filming - a movie worth seeing.
