‘Failed’: vertical limit

Survival cinema has the virtue of transforming a tremendously minimalist situation into an adrenaline-pumping cinematic experience. One of the most obvious examples of clear technical virtuosity is the fascinating ‘Gravity’, with which Alfonso Cuarón transformed Sandra Bullock into an astronaut who has experienced an agonizing odyssey to return to Earth. More along the lines of the Serie B proposals, comes the modest ‘Fall’with which British Scott Mann takes a turn in his filmography, changing the action for more austere suspense.

Despite having as a premise the story of two climbers and how the two are traumatized after the husband of one of them fell off a cliff; “Fall” does not follow the patterns of genre cinema, escaping from iconic titles such as “Maximum Risk” or “Vertical Limit”. In addition, the film focuses more on the approach to survival, approaching recent proposals such as ’47 meters away’ or ‘Underwater Hell’, with particular emphasis on the fact that the main roles are female.

Mann, who directs a screenplay written by himself and Jonathan Frank, a regular collaborator of his filmography, is committed to creating an immersive experience, in which the audience feels the vertigo and tension these two young women feel after reaching the top of a radio tower over 600 meters high. In this respect we note the commitment to shoot in real exteriors, since the sequences of the summit were shot really at great heights, even if these do not exceed 30 meters. However, This commitment to reality gives the film more authenticity, something that is appreciated in this type of production.

Proposal for great heights full of adrenaline. An immersive experience in full free fall

And that’s it ‘Fall’ in what stands out most is in its technical section. Mann takes advantage of the film’s limited budget (it costs only three million dollars) to provoke sensations that really produce dizziness and fear of falling. Its sound is spectacular, as are the set design and photography. Mann converts to the radio tower, inspired by the KXTV / KOVR tower in California, in the other protagonist, in the villain who threatens to devour the two protagonists. Added to this is good time control, which takes the two women to extreme limits, putting them in a series of situations that They add tension and keep the audience in high anticipation.

Its technical section, which invites the film is a sensory experience, elevates ‘Fall’, which gives Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner the opportunity to show off with lead roles that showcase their physical power which has nothing to envy to those who played Blake Lively in ‘Blue Hell’ or Shailene Woodley in ‘Adrift’. Special mention for Jeffrey Dean Morgan, whose secondary presence does not prevent him from experiencing his moments of brilliance.

Perhaps what is most striking about ‘Fall’ is that it has an archetypal storyline (there is a kind of personal catharsis and a subtle criticism of the trivialization of risk due to the influence of social networks). However, this does not prevent us from enjoying an accurate survival thriller, which knows how to exploit a remarkable technical section and which knows how to introduce the public in this journey full of adrenaline and the adversity that the two women must face. A proposal made for the joy of the big screen, capable of completely captivating the viewer in this odyssey of great heights.

Note: 7

The best: Its natural exterior and its sound.

Worse: Its premise is too synthetic, it does not allow a sufficient connection with the extreme suffering experienced by the two protagonists.