Fall (2014 film)

Fall
Directed by Terrance Odette
Produced by Mehernaz Lentin
Written by Terrance Odette
Starring Michael Murphy
Wendy Crewson
Suzanne Clément
Katie Boland
Music by Nick Storring
Cinematography Norayr Kasper
Edited by Caroline Christie
Production
company
Lentin Odette Productions
Distributed by Mongrel Media (2014) (Canada) (theatrical)
Breaking Glass Pictures (2017) (USA) (all media)
Release date
  • October 3, 2014 (2014-10-03) (VIFF)
Running time
 82 minutes
Country Canada
Language English

Fall is a 2014 Canadian drama film.[1] Written and directed by Terrance Odette,[2] the film stars Michael Murphy as Father Sam, a Roman Catholic priest who receives a letter asking about a sexual abuse incident he participated in 40 years earlier.The film was inspired by a past encounter of Odette when he was 14, but is not a direct portrayal of his childhood[3]

The film's cast also includes Wendy Crewson, Suzanne Clément, Katie Boland, Linda Kash and Joel Bissonnette.

The film garnered five Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Murphy), Best Art Direction/Production Design (William Layton), Best Cinematography (Norayr Kasper) and Best Sound Editing (Elma Bello).[4]

Plot

The film follows the mundane life of Father Sam, who tends to his small Niagara Falls parish. His life is weary and he appears to simply be going through the motions of his life routine. Among his parishioners are a young couple wanting to get married outside their own parish and a gay Iranian man who is struggling with his feeling about his recently deceased mother.

Father Sam’s life changes when he receives a letter, which forces his complacent life into descent. The letter is from Christopher, now on his death bed, who Father Sam had mentored 40 years ago. The letter alleges to an incident where Father Sam shares a bed with Christopher when he was 14 years old and he asks whether or not anything inappropriate had occurred.

This leads Father Sam to embark on a roadtrip to Northern Ontario where he visits his mother and sister and then to confront Christopher’s widow Catherine. She bitterly accuses him of having sexually molested her late husband, which Father Sam denies, but it is apparent that not even he is exactly sure about what happened 40 years ago during that night.

The film features lots of lengthy scenic scenes of the natural backdrops of the roaring waterfalls with minimal dialogue in most scenes. The film displays "Murphy’s ability to command the screen with stillness"[5]

Cast

Critical Response

There aren't many reviews of the film, but they are mixed. So few that Rotten Tomatoes only has 5 critical reviews. The average rating is 6.2/10 and has no audience score. Some of the critic comments view the film as "quietly haunting and effective".[6] Others like Gary Goldstein state that " Murphy’s quietly precise performance ultimately can’t overcome the film’s chilly gravity and unsatisfying finale"[7]

Lacey Liam of The Globe and Mail says the film has a promising premise but the "follow through is solemn to the point of dullness".[8] Similarly The Hollywood Reporter states "The Bottom Line: Veteran character actor Michael Murphy delivers a quietly mesmerizing performance in this frustratingly static drama".[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Terrance Odette’s Fall chronicles fall from grace". The Record, November 29, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Hamilton director takes introspective feature 'Fall' to Vancouver festival". CBC News, October 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Inside the Complicated truth of a fall from grace". The Globe and Mail, December 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Canadian Screen Awards Unveil Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter, January 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ Film Review” The Hollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck, January 1st, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Reel Brief", Bruce Demara, Toronto Star, December 4th 2014
  7. ↑ "A Haunted Catholic Priest Questions his past in the slow-moving "Fall"', Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, January 26th, 2017
  8. ↑ "Fall Review", Lacey Liam, The Globe and Mail, December 5th 2014
  9. ↑ "‘Fall’ Film Review", Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, January 2nd, 2017
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