Thriller | Lionsgate | Runtime: 97m | Rating: PG-13
Directed By: Scott Mann
Starring: Grace Fulton, Virginia Gardner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Synopsis: Still reeling from a recent climbing tragedy, Becky and her friend Hunter decide to climb a 2,000-foot radio tower to reclaim her happiness. An attempt that fails drastically when they find themselves stranded on the top of it.
Now the plot to Fall is admittedly simplistic. The two lead characters are a typical pair of normal young women on paper, and the story doesn’t do much in terms of delivering a traditional structure with moving subplots. Fall is a situational film, and it succeeds with flying colors in taking the viewer to anxiety inducing heights. This is a movie that introduces you to the players, then plops them in the middle of an unnerving situation that will literally keep you on edge for the entirety of the film. As I said, on paper Becky (Fulton) and Hunter (Gardner) are your common pair of friends, but in this movie showing no fear, they’re anything but common. And they give this movie two subtly commanding leads to carry the pace capably.
Fall knows what it wants to be. It tailors the narrative to the sequences it wants to capture for audiences and it’s all more than enough to keep you invested in seeing how these ladies are going to get out of this situation, or if they even will. The runtime is swift and the performances from Fulton and Gardner will keep you completely captivated in seeing what will happen. While having clammy palms the entire time. If you aren’t afraid of heights, you certainly will be after watching Fall. A movie that truly is a ride. One that can rival the adrenaline of the biggest roller coaster. Creative sequences like the girls trying to claim their bag of supplies on a satellite hundreds of feet below them, to attempting to communicate with the outside world, keep things moving nicely and it’s a constant rush.
But with a film like Fall, it all comes down to the special effects and the stunt work. Both of which Fall knocks out of the park. The visuals are detailed and realistic and it will have you wishing your chair had a seatbelt. The reliance though isn’t simply on digital effects because Fulton and Gardner dive 100% into the physical aspects of these roles and they’re both badass. You can see them climbing. Grappling all over this old tower. And their athleticism frankly is what makes this movie work to have you easily believing these two as being skilled climbers. I had such a great time with Fall. It was constantly suspenseful; it didn’t stick around longer than needed. And after it was over, I felt a relief from the tension being over and that’s the perfect feeling to have after a movie like this, that will have you wringing out your socks after.
Grade: 90%
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2022 SilverScreen Analysis. All Rights Reserved.
