Falling Parent Guide

Looking at his infant son, Willis Peterson (Sverrir Gudnason) wryly says, “I’m sorry I brought you into this world so you could die.” It’s an unnerving comment from the father of a healthy child. But viewers will consider it an omen after they’ve spent almost two hours watching Willis kill the spirits of anyone whose life he touches.

Falling is a dispiriting film filled with loss, abuse, and hurt. It cuts back and forth between Willis as a young father and as an old man (Lance Henriksen). Age does not mellow him; it simply gives him dementia, thereby removing any filter he ever had and making his cruelty more vicious and visible. He can no longer manage the work on his farm or the harsh winters, so he visits his son, John (Viggo Mortenssen) in California to find a place to retire. While there, he constantly barrages John and his husband Eric (Terry Chen) with homophobic rants and is so combative to his daughter, Sarah (Laura Linney) that her face visibly breaks up in anguish.

I’m not sure what drove Viggo Mortensen to select Falling as his premiere directorial debut. There is no doubt the story is beautifully filmed, with some shots so perfectly composed that they could be printed and framed. The acting is also top shelf. Henriksen and Gudnason both inject Willis with venom, rage, and a barely-hidden fear of his own inadequacy. Mortensen portrays John as a survivor, with a fulfilling life painstakingly achieved after years of struggle. If a character study is what Mortensen intended to produce, he has succeeded.

The frustrating part of Falling is that it misses the most important part of this family’s story. Yes, it offers a bleak examination of the psyche of an emotional abuser. What it doesn’t show – and what I dearly wish it did – is how John and Sarah managed to escape their father’s legacy. Both somehow matured into capable and resilient adults who are caring, accepting parents and who somehow maintain relationships with their toxic father. It’s worth pointing out, however, that they still aren’t free - neither sibling is able to set and enforce boundaries with their father which has them enduring his verbal abuse over and over and over again.

Unsurprisingly, this depressing story is swamped by extreme levels of profanity. There are over 100 swear words, and that doesn’t include the extensive homophobic slurs and repeated crude sexual comments that litter the film. There are disturbing scenes of family violence, both physical and verbal. And there’s female breast nudity that is featured as part of a man’s sexual fantasies. Add in frequent scenes of smoking and alcohol consumption, and this show pretty much ticks all the boxes for movies we don’t want teens to see.

As for adults, I’m not sure who this film is aimed at. If you enjoy character studies or stories of dysfunctional families, this will be your cup of tea. If you want lots of action or a nice, neat happy ending, this film will disappoint. Perhaps the real benefit of Falling is its reminder that we all must find ways to coexist peaceably with difficult people, with those whose opinions offend or frighten us or whose views are simply incomprehensible. And Willis is the living incarnation of what happens if we fail; that misery and loneliness are the inevitable consequence of stewing in a life of fear, rage, and hate.