FALLING (2020) FILM REVIEW

****

15, 112 Mins

Viggo Mortensen and Lance Henriksen shine as a father and son in this sincere portrait of dementia and clashing values.

‘Lord of the Rings’ hottie Viggo Mortensen isn’t immediately who springs to mind when you’re talking about a film about a gay man struggling to be accepted by his ultra-conservative father who also has dementia. It’s not that Mortensen hasn’t done more serious, less Aragorn roles before - just look to ‘A History of Violence’ (2005) or when he played Sigmund Freud in ‘A Dangerous Method’ (2012). It’s just that Viggo, who has often been called “the new De Niro”, hasn’t stepped behind the camera before.

‘Falling’ (2020) is Mortensen’s directorial debut and stars himself as a happily married gay man called John with a mixed race partner named Eric (Terry Chen). They also have an adopted daughter named Monica (Gabby Velis). Little does Eric know, but John is haunted by the abuse he suffered at the hands of his brusque, ultra-conservative and alcoholic father (Sverrir Gudnason in young form). 
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John grew up on a large ranch in rural America. This was all at the time he was coming to terms with his sexuality, but was completely rejected by his father Willis who was cruel to John and his sister Sarah (Laura Linney in adult form) along with to their mum Gwen (Hannah Gross).

Years later, Willis now has Dementia with his mind rapidly declining. John has flown over to take his dad back to California. John hopes he and Sarah can find a home for dad close to them, but Willis’s unconventional, ultra-orthodox ways cause tension with Sarah’s children who now have issues of their own…

‘Falling’ is a two-hander between tackling the debilitating impact Dementia has on one’s self, family and community and a portrait of liberal vs. conservative values that come at odds with each other in the midst of a terrible tragedy. There’s lots of really powerful scenes of Willis struggling with his disease and essentially losing touch with reality.

For example, in one scene, he lights a cigarette when in a plane toilet; forgetting that smoking is banned when up in the air. Willis makes a similar mistake when he’s in John’s house and again choses to smoke indoors.

The impact of dementia is not exclusive to Willis and rubs off on John and his family. In one heartbreaking scene, Willis has an argument with John about a disagreement that a rival farmer wanted to steal Willis’s farm. “You are such an asshole!” John mocks. Willis angrily responds with “and you’re a f**king pansy”.

A fight later ensues between father and son only to resolve with a big hug and Willis crying into John’s arms. This film really stresses the importance of family in beating disease. It also touches on how disease can rip families apart and both the patient and carer can find themselves accusing each other of being selfish. But paternal/sonly love persists and Willis and John certainly have that.

Willis’s reactionary attitudes surface at a family lunch together in the garden outside. He dismisses his wife and John and Sarah’s mother as a “whore” and a “fag breeder”. And he picks on Sarah’s teenage daughter Paula (Ella Jonas Farlinger) for having piercings and calls Sarah’s son Will (Piers Bijvoet) a “homo” for having blue hair. This table scene is the movie’s most powerful scene and puts the warring attitudes of liberalism vs. conservatism at the forefront of Willis and John’s relationship. They are ying n’ yang. Blue oni n’ red oni. Tom n’ Jerry.

Starring in his own film, Mortensen gives one of his career’s best performances as the haunted, struggling, but still loving son John. He really encapsulates and portrays both the emotional damage of abuse and a grown man’s fragile little boy ego; tainted by a father who doesn’t accept him.

He’s not the star of the show, though, which is a surprise for the “new De Niro”. That honour belongs to Lance Henriksen who was once so fantastic as Bishop in ‘Aliens’ (1986) - arguably the best portrayal of an android on screen. Henriksen cuts to the heart of a rigid and deeply conservative man shaped by his rural upbringing. He’s a man with whom progression doesn’t line up side by side him and his values yet finds himself forced to accept his son for who he is as Willis’s condition worsens and John might just be the only friend and thing Willis has left.

If there’s anyone who should be getting Oscar nods, it’s Henriksen. But there are also strong supporting performances from Laura Linney who makes the most of a slightly underwritten role as daughter, sister and mother Sarah. Her expressions after hearing Willis call mum a “whore” are beautiful and left a lump in my throat.

Meanwhile Sverrir Gudnason, who was excellent as Bjorn Borg in ‘Borg vs. McEnroe’ (2017), is lethally cold and icy as the young Willis Petersen. The scenes of him drinking away his days rather than being a proper father to his son will break hearts. And I found especially powerful a scene where he slaps John and pushes him off his horse.

But ultimately it’s Viggo and Lance who are the beating heart of this excellent and sincere dementia/clashing values drama. Their chemistry is inseparable and a testament to familial love triumphing over illness and misfortune. A strong debut for Director Viggo.

‘Falling’ is on Curzon Home Cinema now.