Review of Falling Down

Have you ever had such a bad day that you could just lose your mind? We all have our boiling points, yet the boundaries of society normally prevent us from exploding at the simple injustices presented day by day. However, in the case of William Foster (Michael Douglass) from Joel Schumacher's Falling Down, he lashes out at every simple societal transgression after he loses his job, gets divorced from his wife, and is issued a restraining order so that he is not able to see his daughter. The violent acts performed by the frustrated Foster are what make Falling Down worth a rent. Every person has their pet peeves about how society functions and it is really interesting to watch a common citizen attack the fundamental norms of everyday life in America. For example, in one scene Foster goes to a fast food restaurant in order to eat breakfast only to discover that breakfast is no longer served because it is 11:35 a.m. and the restaurant quit serving at 11:30 (I've been there). Where most of us would just be disappointed and would order something off the lunch menu, Foster whips out a gun and begins shooting the place up. There are several scenes such as this that are really entertaining. Unfortunately the scenes where Foster is not thrashing out at people are where this film suffers. There are a lot of scenes that I felt were not needed. I love Robert Duvall but we've seen his retiring cop character many times in other films. In all honesty every time his character appeared on screen I simply wanted Schumacher to cut to a scene in which Foster was belaboring the citizens of L.A. Overall, this film is filled with some fascinating scenes and a great performance by Michael Douglass. So although the story did not keep me captivated and the other characters are not nearly as interesting as Foster, some specific scenes are enough for me to recommend Falling Down.

RATING: 3.2/5

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