Fall

I thought this movie would be interesting (base largely on the "loved it/hated it" reviews on this forum), but instead felt it was pretentiousness wrapped up in the Freudian wish fulfillment of its writer/director/lead actor, Eric Shaeffer.

This whole movie seems to be Shaeffer's tribute to his own ego- of course the world's most beautiful woman would find him to be fascinating! It's kind of like a Woody Allen film in that sense, but without any of the humor or talent.

Kudos to Shaeffer for making an ambitious independent film, but it just reminded me of an arrogant "artist" trying to show the world how awesome he thinks he is.

I've watched this film several times over the past 5 years. And, each time I find subtle nuances that speak to the sensibilities of life and love. Fall, embodies the peaks and valleys of love and expresses love's very definition. The viewer sees through Eric Schaeffer's eyes the choices that we make when participating in love and the consequences of our decisions. Clearly Michael (Eric's character) was aware that Sarah was married and she made it quite clear that she'd never leave her husband Phillipe. However, my goal here is not to summarize the movie, but rather discuss the alleged rape that some commenting on this site perceived. It is true that Sarah said no, on several occasions. And, when Michael obeyed Sarah and stopped, Sarah (while banging her pelvis against the refrigerator) says "DON'T STOP" and then "COME ON!". Michael effectively got into the mind of his intended lover and took hold. This film is sexy and wildly passionate. Though, I would agree with others, this film is not for everyone.

It's not that the idea of a cabbie and a supermodel falling in love is preposterous. (It happened in a George Michael video.)It's not that the supermodel can walk around with her secret lover and not be recognized or worry about the tabloids. It's mostly because the script serves the ego of the writer (who's also the actor and director)and misses the chance to be truthful. Apparently the cabbie's poetry, humor and powerful sexuality persuades the happily married supermodel to have an affair while her husband is away in Europe. It's hard to criticize the poetry since the poet recites it as rushed voiceover without once breaking from the inflection-free monotone. He does not read it as if he's the author; it's as if he has no relationship to the sentiment that the words are supposed to express. Oh and just so we know..the supermodel is really brainy! This is so we can see that the cabbie is attracted to more than just her supermodel looks. Cause he's deeper than that. And he's really good in bed..although we never see him do much other than enjoy either giving or getting forceful penetration. He teaches the supermodel that good sex is quick sex without foreplay. His two best friends are women...so we know he really likes women, right? With so very little happening in their lives, they starve for details of his exciting sex life. If only they could get some of that 45 seconds or so of kiss-and-caress-free instant copulation. The supermodel insists at the onset of their affair that she will not ever leave her husband and we understand why when we see the couple reunited in Spain. I am so kidding. The husband and wife seem to barely tolerate each other, but we do see that she gets a lot of press in Spain about the extravagant amount of roses our cabbie sends her. Thank God she's having her extramarital affair in media-free New York City! The lovers have their first fight. It turns out she can't really handle the fact that he's just a cabbie with pedestrian tastes...she wants to go to the trendy places with the trendy people and enjoy her fame and wealth without feeling shallow. He just doesn't understand her lifestyle..! But then we discover that he's not really a cabdriver...he's a successful novelist..he was on the NY Times Bestseller List! He wasn't just critically acclaimed, he was popular as well. But the life was shallow and false, so he won't publish again until he's really ready to. Ah, truly a writer's experience. They only write when the conditions are perfect since the inevitable literary splash they'll make must be taken into account and prepared for. That's the toughest part of being a writer. Dealing with the fame. Despite all of this, I think what bothers me the most is that the cabbie never gets pissed, never reacts badly to the fact that the model is married or having to go home after having sex. He stays completely giving, romantic and understanding through everything. He's amenable to everything, even staying away from our model after flying all night to get to Paris. He's so unselfish. It matters more to him that she does what she wants to do, even if that means turning her back on him to stay with her soulless husband. What a bunch of self-aggrandizing hooey. The music was interesting...but the screaming bit was pretty alarming and over-the-top for the story content. I guess we're all hoping that the failed relationship means that our noble cabbie will get cracking on his second novel...which will surely eclipse the success of his first one...and probably cure cancer as well.

I recently watched Fall, written and produced by Eric Schaeffer and I think it is quite on line with how he intended the movie's feeling to be conveyed. I recently was involved in a similar situation as the head character, Michael Shivers, with relation to a beautiful attached with someone else. Although she was not marries, her ties ran very deep with her current situation, much like Sarah's in the film.

The manner in which Michael approached, courted and fell in love with Sarah was like seeing my life on screen. The romance, rapture and feelings which seemed to real to him in the film only crumbled when Sarah was encountered with her "real" life. Women are fickle, stubborn, beautiful, enchanting and even sometimes "hypnotizable". When presented with all the generosity, caring and love in the world, they are quick to see the uniqueness of their situation and grab hold of it with every muscle. However, this is to be short lived. They will soon realize that 1,000 roses, chinese food on your floor, beautiful words to make them smile and cry and kisses and embraces that last for hours are too good to be true. That's when you fall. The true fall for Michael in the movie wasn't falling FOR Sarah, it was falling FROM Sarah.

With an audience like myself, this movie was amazing. A true to life depiction of the brutality, hypocrisy and misdirection of a woman's love. Well done and recommended for any of those guys out there who have taken the "fall". If you are one of those guys, step into their shoes for a while and send them your version of his ending monologue, you'd be amazed at how humbling it can be to the one who let you down.

this is one of my favorite films (in fact, i stayed up late last night to watch it), and it always rips my guts out, especially when the last music kicks in.

in response to Sam's comment that Sarah, the model, is raped, i would submit that she is seduced/romanced (in the parlance of the film, encouraged to "fall" for him).