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. Falling Down benefits from a very good perfomance by Michael Douglas unfortunately for him the film doesn't have the impact it might have hoped it was going to have (at least to me it didn't) plus i found Duvall and the rest of the cast more of wax dolls not doing pretty much anything for the entire film and the ending was definitely awful to say the least and despite Douglas perfomance this was weak. (5/10)

Whether you enjoyed this movie or not, you can't deny that at some point in your life, you will or you've already related to our anti- hero protagonist. You will face problems everyday, problems of all sizes, minor or major, and they will absolutely annoy you to the brink of losing your sanity.Of course, every person will take it differently. Falling Down showed us how even a simple and decent human being could get frustrated by the obvious, gaping flaws of society.I think it's safe to say that there is no coherent story, it's just about our main protagonist "D-Fens" (Michael Douglas) who's trying to get home for his daughter's birthday who was taken from him by his divorced wife. And he faces a plethora of obnoxious problems on the way which slow him down. Sounds pretty horrible and boring when you put it on paper, but this is a perfect example of a movie that's driven by dialogue and characters rather than an exciting plot.You will feel all sorts of emotions while watching this due to the actions done and words spoken by our main character. At times you will feel this movie was a black satirical comedy, and at other times you will feel that this is almost like a fictional documentary about how foul our society is becoming.I've seen this movie many times, and it feels like it gets better every time I watch it. 10/10

For what it is, 'Falling Down' is a very well made, brilliantly acted, effective film. But I think it could've been better had a few things been tweaked just a little in the narrative. I think the story element of William's past aggression against his wife and daughter only harms the film. Without that element, the film would've just been about an ordinary working class every-man who reaches boiling point and lashes out against the unfairness of society. Most of the issues William raises and complains against during his murderous rampage are genuine issues that every ordinary citizen is afflicted with and can understand. Without his inherent and massive flaw, the question that each viewer is asking himself/herself which is 'Should I be rooting for this bloke?' would've been far more compelling. The domestic violence angle just kills the moral dilemma as the film answers that question for you. This is exactly why I love 'Fight Club' as it had the conviction to raise very genuine working class issues as well as show the disastrous effects of indiscreet violent rebellion without trying to glorify or vilify the protagonists.Having said that, I have to again mention that 'Falling Down' is a very enjoyable watch. Right from the first scene, Joel Schumacher makes the viewer feel the scorching L.A. heat radiating off the screen. The camera is fluid and Schumacher makes use of interesting colourful texture to make L.A. a living breathing character in the film.Michael Douglas is brilliant. It's a very politically incorrect character, so an actor needs a compelling personality to make the character engrossing. Duvall is also good as Prendergast who is the sort of the mirror opposite of William.So this is a good film and worth recommending, but it has a weakness, the absence of which would've made the film great.

Everyone's had the moment where they're at the absolute end of their rope and feel like taking drastic or violent action against whatever is grinding your gears. Whether it's a hot day in horrendous rush hour traffic, a particularly irritating lineup at Starbucks or an especially dense customer service worker, you just feel like saying 'screw it', and decimating the place with anything you can lay your hands on. In Joel Schumacher's Falling Down, Michael Douglas does just that on a sweltering LA summer day. His character, who remains nameless save for the moniker 'D-Fens', is a business man on his way home who just… snaps. Throwing a tantrum on the LA overpass, he quickly loses it, arms himself with a high velocity shotgun and proceeds to vet out every mundane annoyance, pet peeve and irksome scenario he can find. Whether it's brutal catharsis he's looking for, a cure for the doldrums of daily life or simply raging against that emptiness we all feel deep down, he keeps his reasons to himself, and let's every other aspect of his character run wild. Holding up a fast food joint because they stopped serving breakfast five minutes too early, massacring homeless punks who foolishly harass him, his crusade sprawls across the valley and beyond, a righteous purge of monotonous, infuriating trivial concerns that soon has the attention of LA's finest in the form of veteran Detective Robert Duvall and his crass, obnoxious lieutenant (Raymond J. Barry). It's also revealed that Douglas's personal life leading up to his break was rocky at best, with a job going downhill and hints of violence towards his wife and daughter. Quite drastic is the meltdown though, but it's not quite a character study, he's almost used more to pick away at the decays in society, a tool for exposing tears in the cloth we take for granted every day. His story is kind of like when you load up Grand Theft Auto on your console and completely ignore the missions in favour of a personalized war on anything that moves. His war happens to be against those little nagging inconveniences that seem like no biggie until they add up and you just go postal. It's darkly funny stuff, but quite harrowing when you look at the big picture and the actual damage he's doing to the city. Douglas is courageous here, it takes reckless abandon to go for a role like this, and he owns it in crew cut, well dressed fashion, a costume choice that absurdly clashes with the big metal cannon he totes. The film never takes sides either, recognizing both the bizarre consumerist nightmare we wade through everyday and it's ability to dampen your spirit as well as the sickening extremes he goes to, challenging you to walk a line and look at both sides. Hard hitting stuff.