The Falling (2014 film)

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The Falling
UK theatrical release poster
Directed byCarol Morley
Written byCarol Morley
Produced by
  • Luc Roeg
  • Cairo Cannon
Starring
CinematographyAgnes Godard[1]
Edited byChris Wyatt
Music byTracey Thorn
Production
companies
Distributed byMetrodome UK
Release date
  • 11 October 2014 (2014-10-11) (London Film Festival)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£750,000[2]
Box office$663,738[3]

The Falling is a 2014 British mystery drama film written and directed by Carol Morley. It stars Maisie Williams and Florence Pugh (in her film debut) as best friends at an all-girls school. The film also stars Greta Scacchi, Monica Dolan, Maxine Peake, and Mathew Baynton. Production began in October 2013. The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 11 October 2014 and was released theatrically on 24 April 2015 in the UK.

Plot[edit]

In 1969, Lydia and Abbie are best friends and classmates at an English girls' school. Lydia, the neglected daughter of an agoraphobic mother, is fixated on Abbie, and has begun to explore her sexuality. After having sex with Lydia's brother Kenneth in an attempt to abort her pregnancy by another boy, Abbie begins to suffer from fainting spells. She faints and goes into convulsions after a stint in detention with Lydia and subsequently dies. Following Abbie's burial, Lydia begins suffering from fainting spells, and it soon becomes an epidemic, with numerous girls and a young teacher at the school spontaneously passing out for no more than a few seconds. Lydia becomes convinced that the administration must take action, much to the chagrin of the principal.[4]

When an assembly is disrupted by a mass fainting episode, the school is temporarily shut down, and all affected students are hospitalised and psychoanalysed. When no cause for the fainting spells is discovered, the school is reopened and Lydia is expelled. That same night, the virginal Lydia has sex with her brother Kenneth, with whom she has developed an incestuous attraction after Abbie's death. Their mother, Eileen, catches them in the act and angrily forces Kenneth out of the house brandishing a pair of scissors before launching into a tirade against her, branding her dangerous and saying she ought to be locked up. Eileen then reveals that Lydia and Kenneth are only half-siblings; Lydia is the product of her rape by a stranger.

Upon learning this, Lydia runs out of the house and Eileen follows her, the first time she has ventured outside the house in over sixteen years. Searching for Lydia, Eileen is overcome with flashbacks of her rape. She eventually locates Lydia, who, in a breakdown over Abbie's death, has climbed to the top of a tree near the school where she and Abbie used to spend time together. Eileen pleads with Lydia to come down, but she laughs, challenging her mother's lack of maternal affection, before losing her footing and falling from the tree into the lake.

Distraught, Eileen ventures into the water, finds Lydia's seemingly drowned body, and cradles her apparently dead daughter, realising that her emotional frigidity had done more harm to her than she knew. Lydia unexpectedly regains consciousness, and the film ends with the two women crying in an embrace.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

BFI funded the film £750K.[5] Production began in October 2013.[6] The soundtrack is by Tracey Thorn. Morley asked Thorn to provide the music for the film after editing had begun.[7]

Release[edit]

The Falling premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 11 October 2014.[8] It had a limited release in the United Kingdom, grossing £442,177 with a further £10,051 grossed in New Zealand.[9] US DVD sales amounted to another £6,406.[10]

Reception[edit]

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 73% of 37 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.8/10.[11] The site’s consensus states, “Well-acted and overall unsettling, The Falling delivers thought-provoking thrills -- and suggests a bright future for writer-director Carol Morley.”[11]

Mark Adams of Screen International wrote, "It is a film that will resonate with some but leave others exasperated, but The Falling is certainly a bold film, and one to be admired and appreciated."[12] Guy Lodge of Variety called it "an imperfect but alluring study of psychological contagion that marks an auspicious advance in the field of narrative filmmaking for acclaimed documaker Carol Morley".[13]

Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a flawed but fascinating period study of female friendship and hysteria".[14] Trevor Johnston of Time Out London rated it four out of five stars and wrote, "Carol Morley shows startling versatility and ambition with this jawdropping mash-up of If... and Picnic at Hanging Rock".[15] Mike McCahill of The Daily Telegraph rated it four out of five stars and called it a continuation of the themes in Nicolas Roeg's Performance and Don't Look Now.[16]

Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent rated it four out of five stars and wrote, "Carol Morley's The Falling is beguiling and disturbing, a beautifully made and very subtle affair that combines melodrama, rites of passage and supernatural elements in an utterly intriguing way."[17] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated it five out of five stars and wrote, "Director Carol Morley has come up with another brilliant and very distinctive feature, about an epidemic of fainting that grips a girls school in the 1960s."[18]

Elise Nakhnikian of Slant Magazine gave a less favourable review, writing that "the film all leads to a melodramatic climax that wraps up the main character's explosive acting out in a too-neat package."[19] David Jenkins of Little White Lies also gave an unfavourable review, writing, "Carol Morley follows up the mesmerising Dreams of a Life with a tedious period drama set in an all-girls school."[20]

Simon Wessely writing in The Lancet Psychiatry noted that the film "beautifully captured" the original 1973 case report of an episode mass psychogenic illness that was its inspiration.[21]

Awards[edit]

Award Category Nominee Result
London Film Festival 2014 Best British Newcomer and Best Film Florence Pugh and Official Competition Carol Morley[22] Nominated
London Film Critics' Circle Young British/Irish Performer Of The Year Maisie Williams[23] Won
Evening Standard British Film Awards Rising Star Maisie Williams[24] Won

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Falling". Twitter. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Carol Morley begins The Falling". Cineuropa.org. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  3. ^ "United Kingdom, US New Zealand Box Office". The Numbers. 12 January 2016.
  4. ^ Dunning, John (28 October 2013). "Independent Announces Start of Shoot for Carol Morley's Film The Falling". BBC Films. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  5. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (21 November 2013). "Get Santa, Bill get £1m from BFI". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  6. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (28 October 2013). "Carol Morley's The Falling underway". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  7. ^ Peter Bradshaw (21 April 2015). "Carol Morley and Tracey Thorn: "Girls' schools? They're a hotpot of urges"". the Guardian.
  8. ^ Barraclough, Leo (3 September 2014). "Testament of Youth to World Premiere at London Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  9. ^ "New Zealand Box Office for The Falling (2015)". The Numbers.
  10. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2 September 2014). "Metrodome catches Carol Morley's The Falling". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  11. ^ a b "The Falling (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  12. ^ Adams, Mark (11 October 2014). "The Falling". Screen International. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  13. ^ Lodge, Guy (17 October 2014). "London Film Review: 'The Falling'". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  14. ^ Felperin, Leslie (13 October 2014). "'The Falling': London Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  15. ^ Johnston, Trevor (20 April 2015). "The Falling". Time Out London. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  16. ^ McCahill, Mike (24 April 2015). "The Falling review: 'potently suggestive'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  17. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (24 April 2015). "The Falling, film review: Maisie Williams is top of the class for melodrama and mystery". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  18. ^ "The Falling review – Carol Morley's masterly followup to Dreams of a Life". The Guardian. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  19. ^ Elise Nakhnikian (23 August 2015). "The Falling". Slant Magazine.
  20. ^ Jenkins, David (21 April 2015). "The Falling review". Little White Lies. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015.
  21. ^ "Tumbline down" (PDF). Lancet Psychiatry. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  22. ^ "The 58th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express announces full 2014 programme". British Film Institute. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  23. ^ Jaafar, Ali (17 January 2016). "'Mad Max: Fury Road'; '45 Years' Score Multiple Awards At London Film Critics' Circle Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Evening Standard British Film Awards 2016: The full list of winners". 8 February 2016.

External links[edit]

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