"The Falling" (2014)

The Trailer:

Director: Carol Morley
Writer: Carol Morley
Cast: Maisie Williams, Florence Pugh, Maxine Peake
Plot Summary: At an all girls private school in 1960's England, Lydia (Maisie Williams) and Abbie (Florence Pugh) are best friends. But after tragedy pulls them apart, a strange, mysterious fainting epidemic travels throughout the school, crumbling the strength any of the girls had.

I know I say this often, but this is definitely not a film for everyone. If you go into it with the trailer alone as your only source of pretext for the film, you'll surely be disappointed. The trailer gives the impression that this is some sort paranormal, occult, mystery film, but I can tell you right now that it's not. However, it's not a terrible film. . . As long as you don't have any high expectations for it. If you simply watch it and lets it's strange, hazy beauty wash over you you might even enjoy it like I did.

What I appreciate most about The Falling is the strange female energy that bursts from the center of it: it's intoxicating, erotic, euphoric, envious, and disturbing. There is a barely-there plot that will annoy some, but I happened to like that. It's the atmosphere that breathes life into the film. It is the actions of the girls, the teachers, the parents that drives the story along. And even when you come upon the final answer to everything, though moot it may be, you won't feel cheated for having watched it. The Falling is special in that way: it gives you a problem and instead of unraveling it and trying to find a solution for it, it veers into this other, weirder, stranger territory that is surreal and haunting. You get this bigger picture of the vulnerability of girlhood, of how easy it is to let yourself be swept away by a seemingly organic phenomena and not being able to pull your way out of it, to become so involved in something that it's impossible to get out. It is a marker of the strengths that young girls can give each other, of the bonds formed between them that verge on romance, and of the puberty-driven, lustful needs that motivate a weird sort of competition between them. It's also a vivid picture of how, when given something to grant them substance, these young girls will cling to it with everything they've got. The Falling is also a reminder of teenage angst; the feelings of anger towards the world, the desire to be part of something, the need to fit in, the thirst for something more. But even further, not only does The Falling expose the angst of teenagers, but of girls. And in the 1960's context, we are given a more oppressed version of teenage girlhood that forces the girls to conform to strange standards in which they all deal with independently. There is a constant tug-o-war between desperation and liberation that is interesting. All of these elements combined make for a bizarre display of the graduation from girl to woman, from child to a being of complexity.

Not only are we given a picture of the puzzling struggles of girlhood, we are forced to become completely isolated just as the girls are. At their prep school, they are only exposed to female energy— except for the few male teachers they have and Lydia's odd brother. Not only are they isolated in that sense, their school is located in the middle of a ominous, dense forest that completely closes them in. While on that topic, the forest is filled with writhing, gnarled trees that almost look human— suffering humans— that create thick, dense shadows. The forest is a symbol to remind us of past horrors and tragedies that have been buried and kept secret. Which only adds to the feeling of isolation. Actually, isolation is probably the most recurring theme throughout the film, that and the need to break free from that. There's this fluttery sense of freedom felt whenever one of the girls has a fainting spell that evokes a nostalgic suggestion of teenage blooming that is sometimes forgotten in adulthood. But opposite that, the film also travels to some dark places. I can't talk about those dark places too much as it would expose some of the more pivotal moments of the film, but just know that it gets disturbing. Really, really disturbing.

I'll be honest, The Falling is perplexing. Even after its conclusion, I sat there saying "what the fuck just happened?". Actually, I said that multiple times throughout the film. There are many moments that seem to serve a far greater purpose that is never revealed. But I can't help but truly like this film. It's darkly, grotesquely beautiful. The cinematography is fantastic, the direction is better, and the acting is the icing on the proverbial cake. Maisie Williams is the undeniable star of the film. She gives the most memorable and haunting performance of a girl lost in the world. I absolutely enjoyed her portrayal of Lydia, and is in fact the only reason I continued to watch the movie after my first "what the fuck" thought. Anyways, The Falling is, again, not a film for everyone: it's weird and without a solid plot (maybe its biggest flaw), but if you like films that have deeper, more profound textures and makes you think and question your own life, then The Falling is definitely for you.