Getting High

In last week’s post I made a bit of a fuss about mowing the lawn, which is not a terribly inspiring display of athleticism and derring-do. While I’m satisfied to do such ordinary things myself these days (especially since it seemed for a time that I couldn’t), I enjoy tales, whether real or fictional, of other people doing the extraordinary. Extraordinary for them, that is. They needn’t be Olympic athletes, though those are fun to watch too. If they simply and credibly push beyond their own usual limits, that by itself is impressive enough. Mystery/suspense writer Harlan Coben, for one, successfully creates relatable characters for whom one roots, and so he is a favorite author of mine. Typically his protagonist is a largely unremarkable suburbanite who pushes himself (or sometimes herself) to extremes, though not beyond plausibility, in order to rescue a kidnapped family member or resolve some other crisis of similar personal importance. Coben has a recurring character named “Win” (Windsor), however, who is much too good at everything all the time to be believable. I don’t mind when he is a secondary character who rapidly smooths some plot wrinkles, but the only occasions when I don’t much care for Coben is when Win is central to the tale. Win is not a relatable human, and so it is hard to care much about what happens to him. I prefer humanly flawed characters in movies, too.
 
One movie I happened upon last week had just the right mix of relatable humans and extraordinary efforts. Fall was in theaters in 2022 and is now available on DVD and for streaming. It is a mix of suspense drama and female buddy picture. This is not one of those recent films where a female protagonist discovers she just happens to be awesome with a sword or discovers she has superpowers and faces no obstacles but boorish men who don’t take her seriously despite those obvious superpowers so she is still a victim. Those are not empowerment stories. They are fantasies. Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with fantasy. Coben’s “Win” character mentioned above is of a similar ilk, and apparently some readers want to be him. It is just that if, as a viewer, you don’t happen to be the target audience for the particular fantasy on the screen or page, it is hard to care about the character or the story. More rounded human beings with human flaws (regardless of “identity”) work better for general audiences.

 
Fall delivers on this. Becky and Hunter are well-rounded imperfect human beings who nonetheless push themselves to do something exceptional. I was invested in the characters early in the movie – so, yeah, I cared that they might fall. The movie begins with Dan, Becky, and her friend Hunter rock climbing a scary cliff face. Dan dies in an accident leaving Becky to grieve. For the next year she simply does not get past it. She is an ass to dad, she drinks too much, and is borderline suicidal. Hunter meantime has become an Instagram minor celebrity with the tag Danger Girl. She puts herself in harrowing situations (usually involving height) and posts selfies. She has over 60,000 followers. Becky’s dad reaches out to Hunter to help his daughter. Hunter challenges Becky to face her fears and get past them by climbing an abandoned and rusty 2000 foot (610 meter) TV tower with her. Excitement and terror ensue.
 
Fall once again shows that good directing and a good script with appealing characters outweigh large budgets and outlandish special effects.
 
Thumbs up for a simple suspense drama done right.
 

Trailer