Falling Down (1993)

An unemployed defense worker frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society, begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writer:

Ebbe Roe Smith

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	William 'D-Fens' Foster
Robert Duvall	...	Detective Prendergast
Barbara Hershey	...	Elizabeth 'Beth' Travino
Rachel Ticotin	...	Sandra
Tuesday Weld	...	Mrs. Prendergast
Frederic Forrest	...	Nick, The Nazi Surplus Store Owner
Lois Smith	...	Mrs. Foster / William's Mother
Joey Hope Singer	...	Adele Foster-Travino
Ebbe Roe Smith	...	Guy on Freeway
Michael Paul Chan	...	Mr. Lee
Raymond J. Barry	...	Captain Yardley
D.W. Moffett	...	Detective Lydecker
Steve Park	...	Detective Brian
Kimberly Scott	...	Detective Jones
James Keane	...	Detective Keene

Storyline

William (D-FENS) just wants to get home to see his daughter on her birthday. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be going right for him. First there's the traffic jam, then the unhelpful Korean shopkeeper who "doesn't give change". D-FENS begins to crack and starts to fight back against the every day "injustices" he encounters on his journey home. The film has a story running in parallel about a desk-bound cop who is about to retire. He's retiring for his wife's sake, and obviously isn't happy about it. The cop tracks down D-FENS and in the final scene.....

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Plot Keywords:

birthday | gang | convenience store | traffic jam | gun | 

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Taglines:

The adventures of an ordinary man at war with the everyday world.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and strong language

Details

Country:

France USA UK

Language:

English Spanish Korean

Release Date:

26 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un día de furia

Filming Locations:

MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$40,903,593 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcor Films, Canal+, Regency Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed during the L.A. riots of 1992.

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Goofs

When shooting the phone booth, the man watching as happens in front of his eyes is changing hands from inside his pockets (in the long shot) to waving them around (the closer shot). There is no time between these shots to move his hands.

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Quotes

Sergeant Prendergast: [the other detectives have filled his desk with kitty litter] How am I supposed to get a pen out of here?
Detective Keene: You don't need a pen. Just use one of them cat turds.

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Crazy Credits

"London Bridge is falling down" plays briefly at the very end of the credits.

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Connections

Featured in De wereld draait door: Episode #4.155 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"LA SCHMOOVE"
Written by Chip Fu (as R. Roachford), Moc Fu (as J. Jones), Poc Fu (as L. Maturine),
Phife Dawg (as M. Taylor) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (as A. Muhammad)
Performed by Fu-Schnickens
Courtesy of JIVE RECORDS

User Reviews

An affirmation of decadence

Take the hottest day of the year, a traffic gridlock, cracked pavements, dirty streets, unwarranted hostility and a general feeling of being short changed. Then add the frustrations of having an estranged wife and child, an extremely jaded and unbalanced mindset, and the frustration of being obsolete with no marketable skills. Set them against the decadent back drop of modern day LA where if you are 'Not economically viable,' you are of no use, and the result is Falling Down.

The tag line 'The Adventures of an Ordinary man at War with the Everyday World,' makes Joel Schumacher's masterpiece sound like the benign story of a working stiff with issues. However Falling Down is a dark and engrossing urban fable, a study into the mind of the disenfranchised and reminder to all that the removal of comfort is a lot closer than we care to believe.

Full of clichés, like the cop on his last day before retiring, Falling Down bravely meets all expectations of stereotypes, rather than challenging them, making for a realistic reflection of a failing society. Here, a man in extremis, without the feral cunning or killer instinct required for a life in the street, makes his way on anger and luck alone, somehow surviving to leave a paper chase of violence and destruction behind.

Relying heavily on symbolism, illustrating a flip side of America running parallel to the hunky dory world occupied by the successful, the over all message of 'No Matter, Never Mind,' is clear in this world where children play next to vagrants dying from AIDS and Korean grocers can legally steal from the public with their overpriced goods.

Michael Douglas displays some hitherto unseen talent as the unbalanced D-FENS, as he casually totes gang weapons (complete with rubber bands on the grips) in his formal shirt and tie, does battle with store owners and comes up against fast food restaurants, homeless people, gangsters and Nazis. Robert Duval is equally brilliant as the desk jockey on his final day, determined to stop anyone else from being hurt, including the perp.

There is, of course, a small amount of Hollywood sentimentality thrown in for good measure, however the dynamics of such a strong narrative make this completely forgivable and it's possible to overlook this as a flaw given the film's overall strengths.

Praise surely has to go to Ebbe Roe Smith for writing one of the finest scripts ever to grace celluloid. Known for bit parts and cameos, who the hell knows who Ebbe really is? Look on IMDb to find out (if you're a geek like me) or release him into the ether if you don't care. The truth is, he's out there. The question is: Where's the next script?

On the whole, Falling Down is a powerful and dramatic indictment of American culture, societal decadence, and the failing values of the West. It's not for everyone and will most certainly offend some, but if approached with an open mind, will provide plenty of fuel for thought.