The Falls

Considering the state of the independent film industry these days - where you need "name" actors just to get noticed, let alone to get into the likes of Sundance - it is indeed a major accomplishment that writer-producer-director (and more) Paul DeNigris made his little $75k movie with no stars and not only got it into 5 film festivals but also got it distributed. The film's acceptance into the IFP Market - the event that launched Edward Burns, Kevin Smith, and Quentin Tarantino to name a few - speaks volumes as to the quality of the project in every regard. Having seen it myself at one of the festivals (Garden State), I can say that what I enjoyed most was the way the film honors its film noir roots in terms of plot, style, and iconography while at the same time making the genre feel fresh.

The way color is used in particular seems like a natural progression from noir's expressionistic use of light and shadow in its black and white cinematography - light and color work thematically to help tell the story and aren't just "eye candy." Neither are the visual effects, which the director loves to point out but frankly, I didn't notice them. Whatever effects work was done must serve the story so seamlessly that I just didn't give them a second thought. All in all, the way the images were handled really transcends the film's digital origins. For a first-time director, DeNigris coaxed strong performances from his actors, most notably leads Tully and Kilgore as well as supporting player Briscoe. The music - both the score by composer Starr and the standalone songs by indie rock acts - served the material well.

This is a good, twisty mystery, well-told within the confines of its budget and technology. Other than name actors, what more could you want? I personally, can't wait to see what this filmmaker does next.

Nice budget on the movie. The soundtrack was one of the best parts. The plot rolls along looking like a bad copy of a Bogart movie. Even the cheesy bad cop/good cop was included. The difference between this movie and something for HBO or some other pay per view movie was the cops and some polish on the special effects. Don't you hate seeing blood without bleeding, closeup shots of scar-less red faces was kind of goofy. The infatuation for red-heads was interesting, having suffered first-hand their treachery it seemed like an interesting theme. My biggest bitch was it was just too stupid. The things the lead character did, the ongoing chasing of the suspected killer, they would fight, then leave, then he'd hunt him down again so they could fight, then he leaves, then he does it all over again. The intelligence of the plot is questionable, although the last 5 minutes almost makes up for it. This movie fits in anyones "straight to DVD" collection, worth watching, even if only to see how much movie $75 000 buys. But when voting for the collective movie database, its only average, deserving a 6.

Although I don't go all gaga over film noir thrillers, I enjoy them o.k. in general. However there's not one second, while watching The Falls, that the viewer is not thinking, "I'm watching a film noir movie," and I did grow to find that rather annoying. I dislike 99% of soundtrack music but I usually try to ignore it. That however is impossible with this movie.

OK, what about everything else? Well, it is a well-crafted and well-acted (except maybe the fight scenes) flick. If you love film noir thrillers, like redheaded babes (for guys) or this type of male (for gals), like jazz music with some rap music thrown in, like film festival selections (as opposed to the standard Hollywood pap), and like seeing a different setting than Los Angeles or New York City, then you may well enjoy this. The characters did all have the typical failing of acting stupidly (as is even commented on, by the narrator) but the multiple twists at the end were rather fun. Unlike with most films, I got the impression that everyone involved was trying to make the best movie they could, rather than simply the most money possible. And at least after watching The Falls, I didn't end up with the feeling that I'd wasted my time, as I often do with (random) DVDs that I borrow.

As for the DVD, I learned plenty, from the behind the scenes feature, which I wouldn't have realized about the making of the movie otherwise. The movie's bonus commentary track also was interesting and enlightening (which often isn't the case.)

I mistakenly thought that this neo-noir effort from the Buffalo - Niagara Falls area might be something different. Unfortunately I was incorrect. There are are many problems with "The Falls", that really have nothing to do with it's low budget video production. Immediately one has to question why all the constant narration? My feeling is that if you have a decent script, the audience will follow along, without having to be insulted with voice over storytelling. The acting is very amateurish, which is not unexpected, but simply adds to the problems. Finally, the entire thing is annoyingly shot like an MTV music video, which I found to be totally unacceptable. The narration, bad acting, and annoying video effects are all good reasons why this should be avoided. - MERK

I thought this movie was awful. I understand it was shot on a small budget but the acting was terrible and the movie itself was just plain dumb. The plot was predictable and the central character was an unsympathetic moron. In fact, all of the characters were unsympathetic and none were fully developed at all. The audience relates to no one in the movie. It was supposed to be suspenseful but if you don't care about the characters, it's hard to get "into" the movie at all. I felt like an outsider being forced to listen to someone tell me a stupid story. All the plot twists at the end were just a little too much - I was actually laughing when I guess I was supposed to be "shocked." All in all, I thought it was really just a bad movie.