Tarsem Singh's (The Cell) sophomore feature is a self-indulgent variation on The Princess Bride, a fractured fairy tale that seems perversely calculated to alienate viewers even as it tries to engage them. After an enigmatic and hallucinatory b&w prologue in which a live horse is hoisted out of a river, the story—set circa 1915 in a Los Angeles hospital—introduces a little girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) recuperating with a broken arm, who is regaled by Roy (Lee Pace), a silent movie stuntman spinning an elaborate tale (presented in extravagant dreamlike style as the girl's vivid imaginings, in which people she knows assume roles in the narrative). In this fantasy world, Roy is the Black Bandit, an adventurer who teams up with a weird assortment of comrades—an Italian explosives expert, an Indian fakir, an African slave, and Charles Darwin—to take vengeance on their common foe, Governor Odious, by kidnapping his fiancée. But the story becomes very sour, in both the real world and the fictional one, when it turns out that the teller is driven by demons of his own. Unfortunately, the director is ultimately more interested in contriving amazing flights of visual fancy than in making an emotional connection with the audience, resulting in a disappointing surrealistic oddity. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (one with writer-director Tarsem; the other with costar Lee Pace, writer/producer Nico Soultanakis, and writer Dan Gilroy), two behind-the-scenes featurettes (totaling 58 min.), two deleted scenes (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a visually splendid but narratively uneven film.] (F. Swietek)
The Fall
Sony, 117 min., R, DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: $38.99, Sept. 9 Volume 23, Issue 5
The Fall
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: