Falling Down (1993)

“I am not economically viable. ” – Bill

Number of Times Seen – 2 (Theater in ’93 and 6 Feb 2017)

Brief Synopsis – A man has a nervous breakdown on his way to work and tries to fight back against problems in the way society works.

My Take on it – This is a film that I saw back when it came out and had little desire to ever see again because it didn’t really leave a lasting impression on me.

A friend recently mentioned this movie to me, so I decided to once again give it a try.

The fact is, the issues that this film deals with are great issues that are mostly still relevant now more than 24 years after it was made, but the way that the script is written, its easy to not have sympathy for the issues or even think about them at all once the credits have rolled.

Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall are both fine here, but the way that the film is presented makes it all seem way over the top.

We can understand the motivations of both characters, the detective on his final day at work and a disgruntled man who has a breakdown and it’s easy to sympathize with them.

The issues discussed here all seem quite plausible but just don’t work well enough within the context of the film.

Bottom Line – Douglas and Duvall are both good here, but the film feels like it’s all done too over the top.  Duvall fits in well as the veteran detective on his last day of work and Douglas works well as a disgruntled man and it’s easy to see both of their motivations for everything.  Many of the issues discussed here are real issues that even nearly two and a half decades after the film was made, they are all still quite relevant.  The ideas are great here, but they just don’t come across as plausible due to the way the script is written.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Michael Douglas considers this his favorite performance of all the movies he has been in. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy

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