by Nathan David Black

Fallen relies on the concept that humanity is being manipulated by wicked spirits that were cast out of heaven at the dawn of history. The theory is that these Fallen Spirits can possess humans for an unspecified amount of time but cannot be without a host for more than a brief amount of time. Unfortunately, Fallen terribly showcased this chilling concept.

The film begins with narration; the voice of Detective John Hobbes (DENZEL WASHINGTON) reveals pertinent information that propels the audience into the plot. After the relevant introductory narration, the continued voice-overs of John Hobbes became annoying because they reveal every upcoming turn and shift of plot, totally besmirching the element of mystery and surprise. Suspense was continuously tripped and the final payoff felt cheap and petty.

After the initial narration sequence, we are transported to the execution of deranged killer Edgar Reese (ELIAS KOTEAS). It is Detective Hobbes that has finally captured and seemingly sealed the fate of the notoriously dangerous Reese. The scenes leading up to Reese's execution were eerie and energetic, and maybe if the remainding ninety-nine minutes of Fallen had traveled in the same vein as the initial sequences, this film could have been one of the more strangely thrilling horror films to view in recent years. The concept is full of vital potential, however the Writer (NICHOLAS KAZAN) and Director (GREGORY HOBLIT) failed to follow through with any stealth or creativity.

After the capture/execution sequences, a murder occurs in Hobbes precinct that has the signature of just-executed Reese on it. Hobbes and his partner, Jonesy (JOHN GOODMAN), investigate the crime. After another murder and a link to a dead policeman of aeons ago, Hobbs and Jonesy realize that Reese has everything to do with what is going on (yes he is dead), which in turn ignites the supernatural aspects of the plot. The story of Fallen occurs within a fairly compacted time period which is generally good for a quick and insistent pace, yet even with the constraints of time and pressure placed on the protagonist the plot did not conjure a sense of suspenseful urgency.

A crucial problem facing the success of Fallen was the casting of Denzel Washington as Detective John Hobbes. Denzel Washington is simply too polished, too groomed for the role of a homicide detective. The cynical remarks of John Hobbes lacked a certain quality of convincing attitude or aura or whatever it is that actors do, and the lack of this quality is due to the undeveloped skills of the actor portraying John Hobbes. Fallen also failed because it lacked the imaginative ploying that is so necessary in plots of suspense.

I am reminded of The Maltese Falcon; at the end of this film one had no idea where the chips were really going to fall and what Sam Spade was going to do. Conversely, Fallen gave the audience too much information while failing to fully develop the characters and the plot. It appeared as if the Writer and Director were attempting a film noir style, but casting and script problems failed to bring the entire film noir ambiance together.

There are many similarities between Fallen and the film Shocker by Wes Craven. Shocker was far more entertaining because it was able to laugh at itself while Fallen was so serious in pretense even though its problems were so absurd that they were comical. I did really like that font that was utilized for the opening credits, though.

Ripcord

by Jenifer Blue

Fallen teased me with a cinematically-induced experience of supernatural criminology. The first fifteen minutes of this film threatened to sweep me out into psychologically suspenseful territory before promptly dumping me into a state of eye rolling, finger drumming petulance.

I was amidst a PMS episode when I witnessed Fallen. Most are familiar with the symptomatic horrors that an onslaught of PMS can incite as another cyclically laborious death begrudgingly occurs. My own PMS pinches transform my usual noble horse loping into a nag'ish drag as I carry the weighty cross of previously ignored personal pathos. Anatomically and psychically, I inflate and shapeshift into a gothic Jayne Mansfield.

Carlos Castaneda deems the premenstrual period as a cosmic event wherein women can see into another, usually occult, angle of perception. A separate reality is certainly preoccupying my own premenstrual existence on the material plane; a veritable Peter Max poster of imagery scurries, skirmishes in my vision. I find that I am susceptible to paranormal idealisms and conceptualizations because I am insatiable in the material world. Why am I sharing my physiological fluctuations in relation to my thoughts of a film? Because I was perfectly poised to have my vulnerable psyche goose'd and seduced by a paranormal plot; a ripping episode of Bewitched could have made a profound impact on me. Perched plumply on a balding movie seat, breasts temporarily abounding, there was a bullseye on my aura winking, beckoning to be eerily influenced. Fallen failed to entice me even while in a heightened state of supernatural suggestion.

Woe to the condescension of the developers of this film. Was it really necessary to spell out plot exposition via psst'ish narration and premature illumination? The scriptor (Nicholas Kazan) and director (Gregory Hoblit) are obviously not familiar with the captivation of intrigue and the rivetation of puzzlement. This was a potentially fearsome plot; the persons who pitched Fallen to potential producers probably regaled in Angel Heart similarities because the aorta of both films rely upon a protagonist duke'ing it out with paranormal circumstances.

Angel Heart succeeded; its story sidewinded through strange arcanum while simultaneously exuding an ambiance that left one feeling haunted for two days post-viewing. One of my favorite performance art moments occurs in Angel Heart: Robert DeNiro, portraying evil, peels a hard boiled egg. Even though this egg peeling business is generally a banal chore, this particular scene in Angel Heart caused me to wring my hands while chuckling deliciously albeit nervously from the throat. The actors in Fallen were not given an opportunity to confidentally expand their performances because the script failed to fully develop the characters (or the plot). Rather than woo'ing the audience with cryptic unravelings and shifts, Fallen threw so many cards on the table in the first quarter of the film that the final ace up the sleeve felt trite'ly anticlimactic.

In my last essay, Hunting Will which pondered the film Good Will Hunting, the aspect of free-will was prevalent. The protagonist in Good Will Hunting managed to reroute the direction of his will, of his action-packed intent. Fate, rather than free-will, runs rampant through the veins of Fallen. The antagonistic object of Fallen is that ordinary people are rendered demonic as they are possessed by an evil entity that needs to occupy earthly bodies in order to do dirty work with vengeance on earth. However, not enough pre-possession information was given about these ordinary people in order to fully gauge the polarizing affect of the malevolent force's impact. Perhaps victim number one was an asshole with homicidal tendencies to begin with.

In upholding the aforementioned Fate Emphasis, Fallen would appeal to the conscious or unconscious sympathy of those who choose not to choose, those who have not experienced their own individual impact on the world, those who would rather believe that evil possesses us from the external rather than existing as a shard of our internal human nature (thus holding us personally responsible for our own polarities of good and evil).

Because the mystery of the plot received an early ripcord, I spent a great deal of oblique mental activity considering 1) the circumstances that surrounded the disappearance of the first Darrin on Bewitched 2) why drive-ins are an endangered species; if I were in a drive-in while Fallen was being projected I could be playing Hangman or some other game of affective connecting in the backseat of an automobile

3) why John Goodman and Donald Sutherland were involved in Fallen.

Donald Sutherland was oddly miscast as a Police Headquarters Chief. The presence of the now white-haired Sutherland lends itself to characterizations of fringy geniuses and outskirty characters gone awry. I could easily concur with Sutherland playing a politician who holds the formula to an occult puzzle, but not Sutherland playing a Police Chief who is really just a Police Chief. John Goodman was correctly cast as a homicide detective, however this was such a weak film lacking in overall development that I was conjuring images of unexpected expenses arising in Life of Goodman, thus rationalizing his involvement in this film.

Re: Denzel Washington. My personal desire is that a Method acting zealot develop this actor. Denzel oozes eagerness, he is perky to perform. However, within the spectrum of this project there was a Denzel'esque self-consciousness that inhibited his full-throng absorption into the characterization of protagonist Detective John Hobbs. His performance was disjointed; one moment he was a gum-chewing, cocksure criminologist, the next moment he was a gushing J Crew advertisement. The script did not avail firm-footing for sensing who the characters entirely were yet unlike the other actors, I found myself watching Denzel Washington and thinking "and well there is Denzel Washington pretending to be Detective John Hobbs again." Embeth Davidtz portrays Gretta Milano, a woman whose past is coming back to haunt her. Ms. Davidtz is slippery; I am ascertaining that chameleon'ism is her personal forte'. Her seemingly innate thespian skill was completely wasted in this film because her character merely idled.

I have viewed three films in three weeks that stimulated both my thinking and viscera in regards to their relevant reflection of society. These films are Jackie Brown, Wag The Dog, and Good Will Hunting. This particular triad exposes a versatility of mirroring considerations concerning collective trends while also displaying adept script and filming skills. Alas, I suspected that I was going to be confronted with a cinematic calamity which would defy any sense of purpose and/or craftsmanship. The purpose and identity of a film can be profundity, pornography, documentation, or simply inciting needed laughter, eyebrow raising, or suspense within a society that has expressed a definitive need to periodically escape into grottos that project images and, for the most part, sounds. Like a doomed marriage, Fallen failed to blend its elements into a potent, cohesive force of images and sounds.

+++ ThE PREceeding TREnd BenDS +++ The NexT TRenD BenDS +++