The Fall

1999
R
1h 34m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

In Budapest, the aspirant writer Adam Ellis from New York lives with the also American Lisa Warrington in an apartment that belongs to her chief József Kovács that Lisa worships. Kovács is a... Read allIn Budapest, the aspirant writer Adam Ellis from New York lives with the also American Lisa Warrington in an apartment that belongs to her chief József Kovács that Lisa worships. Kovács is a former communist and presently an entrepreneur hated by his compatriots. One day, a blond... Read allIn Budapest, the aspirant writer Adam Ellis from New York lives with the also American Lisa Warrington in an apartment that belongs to her chief József Kovács that Lisa worships. Kovács is a former communist and presently an entrepreneur hated by his compatriots. One day, a blonde is chased by two men in the subway and then on the streets; however she cuts the throat ... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.9/10

262

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Photos6

User reviews11

4.9262

Featured reviews

5=G=

Weak and flawed

"The Fall", a technically and artistically okay flick filmed in Budapest, tells of a frustrated American writer (Scheffer) who finds himself involved in drama and intrigue when his flat is invaded by a beautiful woman on the run (de Fougerolles). A flawed screenplay with a thin story which doggedly wrestles with its own flimsy plot, "The Fall" makes for the kind of monotonous watch which is most likely to be enjoyed on late night tv when the picking is slim.

2bkoganbing

Not even a good travelogue

About the only thing I learned from this film is that Budapest is now the new Paris where one goes to find his creative muse. At least that's what Craig Sheffer is there for according to him. But as far as I'm concerned I didn't get to see enough of Budapest to make it worthwhile even as a travelogue.

But happily living and kanoodling with Kim Huffman has enough diversions and apparently he's living off her. But then the sexy Helene DeFougerolles breaks into his place after escaping a couple of men after her. After that Sheffer starts thinking with his male member.

A cursed and muddled plot characterizes The Fall and no one walks away from this with their artistic reputations intact.

7goodfella-8

An exciting thriller let down by a poor cast

An good thriller which in my opinion was let down by a slightly dubious cast and poor direction. While the script was a little obvious it seemed to have the potential for much more and I liked the premise of a foreigner out of his depth in a strange country and the central relationship that was bought together by this situation. I think the director however missed out on building the tense claustrophobic atmosphere that this should have been. This could have been partly due to the cinematography however, which, while starting out with very stylish exteriors, seemed to lose all sense of it's cinematic scope on the interiors.

I noticed that the script was based upon Michael Walker's original screenplay. Having recently seen some of his short work which seems to be doing very well at the moment I wonder what his original screenplay was like?

8thales-2

good plot twist and great locations

It took me a while to figure out where this movie was set but I was enjoying it all the way... The actress who plays marta is sexy and... what an alluring accent! I liked the final plot twist, it was totally unexpected and out of the usual "plot twist" hollywood tradition... fun movie.

8maralex

A film that grips from start to finish

This film was way above average, and is - in my opinion - greatly underestimated. The opening sequence is exciting and gripping, and the story moves at a fast pace as the plot twists and turns towards an intriguing finish. Most of the performances were very good. Helene de Fourgerolles is new to me, but she was excellent, and it was impossible to tell whether she or the ever-reliable Jurgen Prochnow were telling the truth. My only quibble was that Craig Sheffer never convinced, neither his fear of nor his his fascination for the lovely Marta came across properly, and this was a pity. Try and see it, the rest of the cast more than make up for him.