Once Fallen

Brian presley (was on port charles, for years) is chance, just out of prison. Life growing up was pretty rough, and his dad, played by ed harris is also in prison. It's got some issues; we're twenty minutes in, and the plot seems to be that he has to take care of his kid, now that mom has taken off. And chance seems to owe someone money, although we have no idea who or why. They hardly ever say anyone's name, so we're never really sure who anyone is. The sound level is sometimes so low, we have to really crank the volume, which is annoying. Now it's thirty minutes in, we find out that dad is running a drug syndicate from inside prison, and doesn't want chance to be any part of it. It gets pretty messy. Swearing, blood, and violence. This has some pretty well known names in smaller parts... rance howard (ron's dad), sharon gless (cagney), alison eastwood (daughter of clint), amy madigan is rose. The story has legs, but needs a tune-up. Could have been better. The acting performances were fine. Written and directed by ash adams. Was on ryan's hope, acted a bit, and has moved on to writing and directing.

It is refreshing to see a low budget film like this out doing lot's and lot's of big name actor films of late. The story is solid, goes along at a good pace, acting is good (due to a well picked cast). A solid 8 out of 10 and a hell of a lot better film than some of the over rated B grade crap that I have seen coming from the over paid Hollywood production line for some time. Watch it as it is worth a view.

It is refreshing to see a low budget film like this out doing lot's and lot's of big name actor films of late. The story is solid, goes along at a good pace, acting is good (due to a well picked cast). A solid 8 out of 10 and a hell of a lot better film than some of the over rated B grade crap that I have seen coming from the over paid Hollywood production line for some time. Watch it as it is worth a view.

This film receiving a 3.6/10 is unfathomable to me. The acting is superb and the plot develops very well. This film is about a family and their close knit friends having to live with the hard choices they make, and the price they pay for those choices. There is real emotion to this film and the characters are developed extremely well. It has elements of film noir in its gritty and detailed depiction of characters with rough edges and all but that really adds to this film's power. Ed Harris does not disappoint in his role as the deeply flawed yet caring father, who puts everything on the line for his son over and over again (not wanting to spoil anything, that is all I will say about that). An excellent film, well worth watching.

If you're a fan of independent film do yourself a favor and see Once Fallen. I've seen countless low budget films and this is one of the best I've seen. Writer/Director/Actor, Ash Adams should be applauded for putting together such a stellar cast with a budget of only $650,000. And his performance as a dirty cop is both captivating and terrifying. Once Fallen is a crime drama with a very touching theme about fathers and sons at the center. The strong performances of the cast adds to the raw emotion of the film. Watch the Blu-ray version so you can appreciate how good this film looks. This film deserves more attention!

I should have liked this movie. It has so many elements that I normally enjoy: Ed Harris, prison drama and action, criminal brotherhood, and it's an indie film (which I tend to prefer to large studio movies).

Unfortunately, all of these elements were combined very poorly. The result is on par with a made-for-TV movie or, at best, some crappy Dean Cain or Casper Van Diem movie shown at 3am on TNT ("Starship Troopers" excluded, of course).

And though I feel like 2/10 is a harsh score (especially for a low-budget indie film), every time I reconsider the score my mind flashes to many poorly written, poorly acted, poorly directed scenes that are burned into my memory. It's a bad movie; 2/10 is fair.