Falling (2020)

John Peterson lives with his partner Eric and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging father Willis from Los Angeles who is searching for a place to retire, their two very different worlds collide.

Director:

Viggo Mortensen

Writer:

Viggo Mortensen

Stars:

Viggo Mortensen, Lance Henriksen, Sverrir Gudnason

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Viggo Mortensen	...	John Peterson
Lance Henriksen	...	Willis
Sverrir Gudnason	...	Young Willis
Laura Linney	...	Sarah
Carina Battrick	...	Sarah (4 - 6 Yrs)
Hannah Gross	...	Gwen
Terry Chen	...	Eric
Ava Kozelj	...	Sarah (11 Yrs)
Gabby Velis	...	Mönica
Bracken Burns	...	Jill
Liam Cresctielli	...	John (Baby)
Luca Cresctielli	...	John (Baby)
Grady McKenzie	...	John (4 Yrs)
Etienne Kellici	...	John (9 - 11 Yrs)
William Healy	...	John (16 Yrs)

Storyline

John Peterson lives with his partner Eric and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging father Willis from Los Angeles who is searching for a place to retire, their two very different worlds collide.

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Plot Keywords:

father son relationship | coming out | actor director producer writer | lgbt | cannes 2020 | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout including offensive slurs, crude sexual references, brief sexuality and nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Viggo Mortensen did not intend to act in the film, but the funding was made dependent upon his taking one of the main roles.

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Quotes

Willis: I don't need to catch the AIDS at this point in my life.

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Connections

Features Red River (1948)

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Soundtracks

A Little Late
Written and Performed by Skating Polly
Courtesy of Chap Stereo

User Reviews

Well done, Viggo

There's a lot to commend here. The film is carefully structured, full of interesting detail while never losing sight of the story it wants to tell. On the surface it is a family tale, but underneath it is a drama of conflicting values, of care versus cruelty.

Viggo Mortensen the writer has a less steady hand than Viggo Mortensen the director. He has created an austere father figure who lacks the three-dimensionality of the carers he comes into conflict with. In spite of a towering, theatrical performance by Lance Henriksen, there is a feeling of something missing. It may be we just don't have enough back-story: how did this guy get this way? There's only a single line that might give a clue. It's not enough. However, the character's younger self is given a wider range of emotion to play, which Sverrir Gudnason siezes, runs with and scores triumphantly.

The female roles, though in a couple of cases rather sketchy in terms of what they say, are all superbly played, directed lovingly so that the camera fills in the gaps left by the absence of spoken words. This is particularly true of Hannah Gross's sensitive turn as Gwen.

Mortensen turns out to be a very good director of children. The young actors in the cast all give excellent performances.

Of Mortensen the actor there's only praise to give. It's been a joy watching him develop over these many years since his film debut in WITNESS. He's as compelling and believable as ever, never more so than in his tender relationship here with Terry Chen.

Well done, Viggo. Here's to the next one.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Twitter

Country:

Canada UK Denmark

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

5 February 2021 (USA)

Also Known As:

Falling

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,603

Company Credits

Production Co:

Perceval Pictures, Baral Waley Productions, Scythia Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1