Falling Down
1993 Directed by Joel Schumacher
Synopsis
A Tale Of Urban Reality
An unemployed defense worker frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society, begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
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While watching Falling Down, I had to keep asking myself; "Who was this movie made for?" Was it made for lower-to-middle class white guys down on their luck, who would sympathize with the protagonist? If so, it was a dreadful failure, as it is difficult for me to find a more reprehensible, psychotic main character with whom the audience is meant to connect. Michael Douglas, who does a hell of a job with the role, is not a vigilante; he is a puredee lunatic who has snapped. He is a monster, and although there are wisps of reasoning behind his actions, that's like saying Hannibal Lector was an OK guy because he was part of the 'clean plate' club. The…
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Every now and again Joel Schumacher will come out with a good film (I guess if you make enough of them eventually one turns out right) and Falling Down is undoubtedly his crowning achievement. It is a film that borders on wish fulfillment as one man rallies against the constraints and irritations of contemporary life. Whilst D-Fens certainly pushes it too far, and the film does a good job of making him both a sympathetic and psychotic presence, there is an undoubted pleasure seeing somebody push back against the bullshit of modern society.
Michael Douglas has always been somewhat of an underrated actor, perhaps because during his height he gravitated towards rather similar and easy roles. His performance as the…
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Part of Dastardly Difficult December: film nr.21
One could argue that this film bites off more than it can chew, but it does it so extremely well that I’m more than willing to forgive it its flaws and relish in the, by now, iconic rants D-FENS gives us.
Joel Schumacher is an average director in my opinion. He has made some atrociously bad films and some that are pretty good. He has made one truly excellent film and this is it. Apart from stringing together the central narrative really well, he also elicits two fantastic central performances from Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall. He manages to ground the absurdity of what we’re watching in some form of realism, mainly because…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Anytime I get to McDonalds at 10:35am and they refuse to make me a Bacon and Egg McMuffin, I think of this movie.
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"You think I'm a thief? Oh, you see, I'm not the thief. I'm not the one charging 85 cents for a stinking soda! You're the thief. I'm just standing up for my rights as a consumer." - D-Fens
The disturbing fact about this film is that it's more relevant in today's society than it was in 1993's society. Today's world is becoming decreasingly "economically viable", and people just won't take it anymore. The London Riots of 2011 are a prime example of that. Imagine if you had D-Fens leading them?
Michael Douglas is simply electrifying. D-Fens is funny, moving, scary and sad in equal measure. At first, he may seem like a man who is just sick of the world's…
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Michael Douglas in a role as a man that simply can't take the stresses of modern life anymore.
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Though dated in many of its social references this is still an excellent film. Taken in the context of the time in which it was set and made it becomes an eye opening commentary on the anti-hero tales of the late eighties and early nighties.
The viewer is made to sympathize with the D-fens character during the fist half of the film. We watch him do all the things we wish we could at the start of another bad day that's part of a larger series of disappointments. However, we see later in the film that D-fens can only act these desires out because he is obviously mentally ill.
Often in anti-hero tales of the time we're shown that while their methods are deplorable their goals are ultimately set for the greater good. In the case of D-fens these goals are unabashedly selfish, highlighting the extreme of anti-heroism lead one to being the very thing they're fighting against.
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Film #16 of the 100 Movie June Challenge
Perfect 90's movie.
Douglas was all kinds of crazy and awesome.
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A superb film about a man who's hit his limit with the BS life brings! A truly Great film
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Very Relevant
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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I went into this not knowing much about it, other than a co-worker told me it was awesome once.
I assumed it would be a movie about an anti-hero; someone you rooted for in his wrong doing.
And for awhile, that's the kind of movie it was.
After the surplus store, it's a pretty standard 90's movie.
Edit: I should mention how much I loved the beginning of the film. It really sold me on him reaching his boiling point. I was even getting a little anxious myself.
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A superb trhiller directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Michael Douglas, in one his best roles as William "D-Fens" Foster ", and Robert Duvall.
The film centers on Foster as he goes on a violent rampage across the city of Los Angeles, trying to reach the house of his estranged ex-wife in time for his daughter's birthday party. Along the way, a series of encounters, both trivial and provocative, cause him to react with violence and make sardonic observations on life, poverty, the economy, and commercialism. Martin Prendergast (Duvall), an aging LAPD Sergeant on the day of his retirement, who faces his own frustrations, tracks down Foster as his final case.
From being stuck in a sweltering car with broken…
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I've always had an appreciation for this "artsy" studio film, when Joel Schumacher was considered a "provocative" filmmaker and Michael Douglas was exploring the "Angry White Male" archetype in a slew of 90's films. While exploitive and borderline racist at times, FALLING DOWN is still audacious and dangerous cinema when studios were still interested in sparking dialogue in pop culture instead of just dollars. D-FENS LIVES!!