墜落一剎

墜落一剎
英國、加拿大 | 2020 | 112’ | 彩色 | 英語 | 英文字幕 | 組別: C
導演: Viggo Mortensen

Veteran actor Viggo Mortensen makes an impressive directorial debut at the age of 60 with Falling, the portrait of the troubled relationship between a cantankerous old man suffering from dementia and his gay son. Although predominantly set in the present as the father Willis (Henriksen) visits the son John (Mortensen) in California and opens old wounds, the film flashes to events decades earlier as if it is roaming through time in Willis’ fractured mind. There, in the shadows of the past, we see how Willis’ toxic personality evolved. While you might think you know what you are getting in Falling, Mortensen constantly surprises you. This is no sappy Hollywood drama where issues are resolved with hugs and tears, this is the grit of damaging and damaged people where no such easy solutions exist. Henriksen’s father is relentless in his angry verbal abuse and Mortensen’s resigned and patient son refuses to rise to his insults. In the end, however imperfect the father, this son cannot dodge his filial loyalty.

MIKE GOODRIDGE

John lives with his partner Eric and their daughter Monica in California, far from the rural life he left behind years ago. John’s father Willis, a headstrong man from a bygone era, lives alone on the isolated farm where John grew up. Willis is in the early stages of dementia, making the running of his farm increasingly difficult, so John brings him to stay at his California home so that he and his sister Sarah might help him find a place near them to relocate to. Unfortunately, their best intentions run up against Willis’ adamant refusal to change his way of life in the slightest.

Viggo Mortensen is an actor, director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, painter and musician. As an actor, he has starred in a wide range of films including Green Book, Captain Fantastic, A Dangerous Method, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, The Road, Appaloosa, Far from Men, The Two Faces of January, Jauja, Hidalgo, Alatriste, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He has received various nominations and awards from groups including three Oscar nominations. Falling is his first feature as a director and had its world premiere in Sundance in January, followed by selection in the Cannes Label 2020, Toronto and San Sebastian.