Rating of
3/4
Fall Reaches Some Thrilling Heights
Chris Kavan - wrote on 10/11/22
When you're on top of the world - don't look down. Fall is the kind of film that is both extremely simple but also incredibly effective. It keeps you on the edge (figuratively and literally) and even manages to throw in a few nice twists along the way. And if, like me, you really don't like heights, it certainly makes you squirm.
Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner) are good friends and, along with Becky's husband, Dan (Mason Gooding), also quite the climbing enthusiast. But the thrill seeking ends in tragedy and causes Becky to spiral downwards, even straining her relationship with her father, James (Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a bite-sized role). A year after the event, and barely sober, Becky is convinced by Hunter - who has her own thrill-seeking social empire - to climb the remote 2000-foot B67 TV tower. This is to help overcomer her depression and face her fears. Of course she agrees and, of course, things don't go as planned. As the two climb the tower you see rust and corrosion, loose bolts and overall neglect from the long-dormant tower. You can see where this is going.
Soon enough the two women find themselves atop the nations fourth-largest man-made structure and soon after trapped atop the same. With their water and most essential items (including a drone) fallen to a dish below, the two try to hash out a plan to survive and get help. Although the pacing can be a bit hit-or-miss at times, for the most part the films keeps things intense as you see the lengths the two are willing to go in order to survive.
The film is mostly a two-woman show and Currey and Gardner make a good pair - even if the movie throws in the requisite conflict between the two involving Dan. Also on a funny note, Lionsgate had to remove a lot of F-bombs in order to mark this down to a PG-13 (for hopefully more widespread audience appeal) and did so through technology (deepfakes) rather than reshoots and, I have to say, I couldn't tell anything was up - so good job on that front! Also, I still find deepfake technology wholly concerning and unnatural - but that's a discussion for a different day.
While I should have seen the big twist coming from a mile away, I was actually somewhat surprised by the reveal, not that the movie doesn't give you several clues and is easy to catch once I looked back on certain things. I wasn't expecting a lot from this one but Scott Mann really managed to give what was originally a short film a worthwhile expansion. I does what you need it to - keeps you engaged and thrilled and makes you care about the characters at the same time. If you want a fun ride - and don't mind a bit of vertigo - this a climb worth taking.
