Like other climbing movies come before (“Vertical Limit” stands out most), “Fall” has a backstory it tells in quick progression. Becky (Currey) and Hunter (Gardner) have been friends for a while, but have drifted apart after the death of Becky’s husband Dan (Mason Gooding) in a climbing incident. She can’t move on, and fills her time with secluding herself, drinking too much, and chained to Dan’s memory. Her father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) wants to help her, but she won’t let him in. It’s very standard stuff we’ve seen before. In short time Becky gets a visit from Hunter, and eventually agrees to climb the obscenely tall tower with her.
Some Writing Issues, but Combined with Stronger Elements
I guess that’s the bad: “Fall” doesn’t concern itself too fully with painting a close, dramatic relationship between the two (though it does have a secret you can see coming a mile away), and cuts quickly to the chase — the climb. Director Mann and co-writer Jonathan Frank paint some light details, but there isn’t a tremendous amount of depth.
What Mann and Frank do well, however, is draw the film’s foreboding and foreshadowing well. They also build enough camaraderie between Becky and Hunter that we do care about them. And, though “Fall” throws in some clichéd material later on, its strength is it doesn’t get into lazy histrionics or drama, apart from its survival situation.
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The cinematography makes this movie, and kudos should be given to MacGregor for handling the film’s sequences with heart-pounding finesse. The foreshadowing is well done (a dead coyote being eaten by buzzards, and a lingering camera on Becky’s foot as it leaves the ground to ascend the first ladder rung are its strongest). Also strong is the absolute scale of the radio tower, which stretches above the desert surroundings with its rust-colored skeleton. The camera focus is on the inside of the cage as the two climb. Things don’t get too harrowing, even as they reach disastrous heights, until later.
Impressive, Terrifying Cinematography
However, when things do go bad, they go bad quick, and MacGregor and Mann bring the terror in bucket-fulls. When the ladder snaps off taking Becky with it (who manages to grasp on to her friend’s arm before the entire external tower ladder — I’m guessing 500-foot worth — peels away), the adrenaline is top notch. I also appreciated the film’s attention to detail as Becky works her way to safety. A good thirty seconds later we see the pieces of the ladder smash into the ground below — it’s that far.
The rest of “Fall” details Becky and Hunter trying to find ways to a) get down (nothing really happening there) and b) get help. While there are some elements that happen for the convenience of the screenplay (including a couple of unhelpful passerbys), most of their discussions of survival make sense, and we can follow it along. As the buzzards close in (the duo are atop the tower’s ledge for days), things become more dire.
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The film inserts all types of modern elements into the proceedings such as cell-phones, live streaming, and drones. Hunter lives a “dangerous” life, and wants to chronicle her adventures for all her Instagram followers. Meanwhile, Becky urges her to be herself. Selfies dangling one-handed from a metal grate 2,000 feet in the air seems absurd, but in today’s age of selfie-ing everything, it fits into the film without defying logic. And for that manner, aside one stunt (which is part of a twist I didn’t really care for), Mann saves the James Bond antics and grounds Becky and Hunter’s predicament in more reality than I would have initially thought.
Not a Film for Acrophobics
The film’s terror comes from the times the camera shows the view the duo sees from the top down, or the times they nearly fall (a lot!), or when buzzards swoop them, or when their attempts at rescue fail, one-by-one. “Fall” gives the audience some reprieve as the two sit on the tower, talking about life, or contemplating rescue ideas. And for that matter, the film gives the two a good amount of ideas, given its small, confined space and lack of materials between them.
I’ve read reviews likening this movie to “Open Water” or other stranded films. But what those films did was to offer terror through suggestion, whereas “Fall” offers terror through palpable visuals. Between the wind whipping at the girls’ faces from 2,000 feet, to their almost constant near-falls, the film keeps your adrenaline at peak levels. I can imagine people who suffer from vertigo or acrophobia — like myself — having a hard time with this movie. The tension is almost too great at times, but something makes you want to stick it out.
At the end of the day, “Fall” is not perfect. It suffers from some writing and underdevelopment problems, as well a performance from Jeffrey Dean Morgan that lacks heart, but its other aspects make up for it. Both Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner offer good acting and have believable chemistry, and the situation they are in is unique and perilous. MacGregor knocks the camerawork out of the park, and the film is truly terrifying. If you’re looking to remain on the edge of your seat, “Fall” will reward you in spades. If you’re looking for a deeper survivalist drama, however, it might end up letting you down.
Currently, “Fall” is only available to watch in theaters.
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