Movie Review: FALL

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: August 19th, 2022 / 07:45 PM

Rating: PG-13
Stars: Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Mason Gooding
Writers: Jonathan Frank & Scott Mann
Director: Scott Mann
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: August 12, 2022

FALL is a word with several meanings. Here, it is not seasonal, but rather what can happen to climbers. For acrophobic viewers who want to be scared to death, this may be movie nirvana.

A prologue introduces us to the twenty-something trio of Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), her husband Dan (Mason Gooding), and their best friend, Shiloh Hunter (Virginia Gardner). All three are climbing enthusiasts, currently scaling an almost sheer rock face.

We’re out in God’s country, the drop to the bottom is horrifying, but our pals are having a great time. Then tragedy strikes (not much of a spoiler, it’s in the trailer).

A year later, Becky is doing very badly. She drinks hard, and refuses to engage with her understandably worried father, James (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

Hunter, meanwhile, has become a globe-trotting, social-influencing daredevil. She returns to coax Becky to share an adventure with her.

Hunter’s plan is to scale the now-decommissioned two-thousand-foot-tall B-67 TV tower, once the tallest structure in the U.S. She feels that good challenge like this will help bring Becky back to herself.

After at first refusing, Becky agrees.

On the plus side, the tower has a lot of ladders. On the minus side, it is out in the middle of nowhere. It’s been abandoned for years, meaning there’s been no maintenance on the rusted nuts and bolts holding the ladders in place. It’s also on the turf of some large, aggressive vultures.

Director Scott Mann and his co-writer Jonathan Frank come up with a good balance of triumphs and setbacks as Becky and Hunter lose control of the situation. It’s easy to be viscerally caught up in wondering how, or even if, they will be able to get down.

Per the title, we become very scared that one or both will fall.

Currey and Gardner both give emotionally committed and physically impressive performances. The musical score by Tim Despic also makes a strong contribution.

We do have some questions, though. Shouldn’t Becky, who not only hasn’t climbed but seems to need alcohol detox, go through some kind of training regimen before attempting this?

And even though Hunter is established as a spontaneous soul, shouldn’t she tell somebody (like maybe Becky’s dad) where they’re going?

We can overlook these issues. Two plot “twists” that are so standard that they’re predictable are more disappointing.

Still, the FALL filmmakers succeed in creating tension virtually from start to finish, with a lot of visual flourishes. It’s suspenseful even for those who won’t take one look down and feel like fainting just from the view.

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