The Falling (2014 film)

This article is about the 2014 film starring Maisie Williams. For the 1987 film starring Dennis Christopher, see The Falling.
The Falling

UK theatrical release poster
Directed by Carol Morley
Produced by
  • Luc Roeg
  • Cairo Cannon
Written by Carol Morley
Starring
Music by Tracey Thorn
Cinematography Agnes Godard[1]
Edited by Chris Wyatt
Production
company
Distributed by Metrodome UK
Release dates
  • 2014 (2014)
Running time
 102 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget £750,000[2]
Box office £468,762[3]

The Falling is a 2015 British mystery drama film written and directed by Carol Morley. It stars Maisie Williams and Florence Pugh as best friends at an all-girls school. The film also stars Greta Scacchi, Monica Dolan, Maxine Peake, and Mathew Baynton. Production began in October 2013. The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 11 October 2014 and was released theatrically on 24 April 2015 in the UK. The Falling earned £468,762 on a £750,000 budget.

Plot

In 1969, Lydia and Abbie are best friends at an English girls school. Lydia, the neglected daughter of an agoraphobic mother, becomes fixated on Abbie, who has begun to explore her sexuality. Before having sex with Lydia's brother Kenneth in an attempt to abort her pregnancy by another boy, Abbie begins to suffer from fainting spells. She suffers an episode shortly after a stint in detention with Lydia and dies in the process. Shortly after Abbie's burial, Lydia begins suffering as well from fainting spells, and it soon becomes an epidemic, with numerous girls and a young teacher in the school spontaneously passing out for no more than a few seconds. Lydia becomes convinced that the administration must take action, much to the chagrin of the school principal.[4]

When an assembly becomes disrupted by a mass fainting episode, the school is temporarily shut down and all affected students are hospitalized and psychoanalyzed. When no cause for the spells is discovered, the school is reopened and Lydia is expelled. That same night, the virginal Lydia has sex with Kenneth, with whom she has developed a licentious relationship after Abbie's death. However their mother Eileen catches them and, armed with a knife, angrily forces Kenneth out of the house before launching into an argument with her daughter, in which she brands her dangerous and that she ought to be locked up. She also unwittingly reveals that her and Kenneth are only half-siblings; Lydia is the product of a rape.

Upon learning this, Lydia runs away from the house and Eileen follows her outside, despite having never ventured outside in over 16 years. As she looks for her, she is overcome with flashbacks of her own sexual assault, and eventually she locates Lydia; who has climbed to the top of a tree, and breaks down over Abbie's death. Eileen pleads with her to come down. Lydia laughs, and enjoys challenging her mother's lack of maternal affection, before she begins to lose her footing and leaps from the tree into a lake.

A distraught Eileen ventures into the water; and as it occurs to her that Lydia has drowned, she cradles her body, telling her that she loves her, and holds her tightly, beginning to realise that she has actually done more harm than good in ignoring her and not comforting her the way that she should have done. Lydia regains consciousness, and the film ends with mother and daughter reconciling, and Lydia finally crying and beginning to come to terms with Abbie's death.

Cast

Production

BFI funded the film £750K.[5] Production began in October 2013.[6]

The soundtrack is by Tracey Thorn. Morley asked Thorn to provide the music for the film after editing had begun.[7]

Release

The Falling premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 11 October 2014.[8] It had a limited release in the United Kingdom, grossing £442,177 with a further £10,051 grossed in New Zealand.[9] US DVD sales amounted to another £6,406.[10]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 78% of 22 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 7/10.[11] Mark Adams of Screen International wrote, "It is a film that will resonate with some but leave others exasperated, but The Falling is certainly a bold film, and one to be admired and appreciated."[12] Guy Lodge of Variety called it "an imperfect but alluring study of psychological contagion that marks an auspicious advance in the field of narrative filmmaking for acclaimed documaker Carol Morley".[13] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a flawed but fascinating period study of female friendship and hysteria".[14] Trevor Johnston of Time Out London rated it 4/5 stars and wrote, "Carol Morley shows startling versatility and ambition with this jawdropping mash-up of If and Picnic at Hanging Rock".[15] Mike McCahill of The Daily Telegraph rated it 4/5 stars and called it a continuation of the themes in Nicolas Roeg's Performance and Don't Look Now.[16] Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent rated it 4/5 stars and wrote, "Carol Morley's The Falling is beguiling and disturbing, a beautifully made and very subtle affair that combines melodrama, rites of passage and supernatural elements in an utterly intriguing way."[17] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated it 5/5 stars and wrote, "Director Carol Morley has come up with another brilliant and very distinctive feature, about an epidemic of fainting that grips a girls school in the 1960s."[18] Elise Nakhnikian of Slant Magazine gave a less favorable review, writing that "the film all leads to a melodramatic climax that wraps up the main character's explosive acting out in a too-neat package."[19] David Jenkins of Little White Lies also gave an unfavorable review, writing, "Carol Morley follows up the mesmerising Dreams of a Life with a tedious period drama set in an all-girls school."[20]

Awards

Award Category Nominee Result
London Film Festival 2014 Best British Newcomer and Best Film Florence Pugh and Official Competition Carol Morley Nominated
London Film Critics' Circle Young British/Irish Performer Of The Year Maisie Williams[21] Won
Evening Standard British Film Awards Rising Star Maisie Williams[22] Won

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Falling". Twitter. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Carol Morley begins The Falling". Cineuropa.org. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "United Kingdom, US New Zealand Box Office ()". The Numbers. 12 January 2016. External link in |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "Independent Announces Start of Shoot for Carol Morley's Film The Falling". BBC Films. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  5. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (21 November 2013). "Get Santa, Bill get £1m from BFI". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  6. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (28 October 2013). "Carol Morley's The Falling underway". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Peter Bradshaw. "Carol Morley and Tracey Thorn: "Girls' schools? They’re a hotpot of urges"". the Guardian.
  8. ↑ Barraclough, Leo (3 September 2014). "Testament of Youth to World Premiere at London Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "New Zealand Box Office for The Falling (2015)". The Numbers.
  10. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (2 September 2014). "Metrodome catches Carol Morley's The Falling". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Falling (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  12. ↑ Adams, Mark (11 October 2014). "The Falling". Screen International. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  13. ↑ Lodge, Guy (17 October 2014). "London Film Review: ‘The Falling’". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Felperin, Leslie (13 October 2014). "‘The Falling’: London Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Johnston, Trevor (20 April 2015). "The Falling". Time Out London. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  16. ↑ McCahill, Mike (24 April 2015). "The Falling review: 'potently suggestive'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  17. ↑ Macnab, Geoffrey (24 April 2015). "The Falling, film review: Maisie Williams is top of the class for melodrama and mystery". The Independent. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "The Falling review – Carol Morley's masterly followup to Dreams of a Life". The Guardian. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Elise Nakhnikian (23 August 2015). "The Falling". Slant Magazine.
  20. ↑ Little White Lies magazine. "The Falling review - Little White Lies". littlewhitelies.co.uk. line feed character in |title= at position 20 (help)
  21. ↑ http://www.criticscircle.org.uk/film/?ID=479
  22. ↑ http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/film/evening-standard-british-film-awards-2016-idris-elba-and-dame-maggie-smith-lead-list-of-winners-a3174206.html

External links

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