Free Fall
2/4
Starring: Hanno Koffler, Max Riemelt, Katharina Schuttler
Not Rated (Probable R for Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Language and Some Violence)
What is it with all these indie filmmakers who think that the only way to make a good movie is to suck out all the emotion from it? Granted, there are some movies that do well to be told in an understated fashion, but a formula romance movie generally isn't one of them. It's not that the film is depressing (which it is). It's that its depressing without substance. There's nothing behind it, and as a result, it's a dead zone.
Marc (Koffler) is living the good life. He's training to become a police officer, is in love with the beautiful Bettina (Schuttler), and has a baby on the way. That's when he meets Kay (Riemelt), another man at the academy. They don't get along well at first, but Kay is interested in him...and not just as a friend. That's when Marc begins to have feelings that he has never experienced before. Things are getting complicated for Marc, especially with the baby on the way and a bunch of macho guys at the academy.
"Free Fall" makes a lot of wrong moves, and not a lot of right ones. Character development is sketchy; we don't know what makes any of these people tick (except for the obligatory homophobe, a guy named Limpinski, played by Shenja Lacher...it's an effective performance, surprisingly enough). The only sympathy we have for the characters is because of the charisma of the actors, which director Stephan Lacant (who co-wrote the screenplay, if you can believe it) does his best to muzzle. The film doesn't have a good sense of flow or balance (both of which are key for a romance). And, as is always the case for self-important arthouse movies like this, there are lots of handheld shots that distance us from the characters rather than establish a rapport.
The film is badly in need of focus. Lacant doesn't know what to concentrate on. I think he's more interested in Marc's inner turmoil, but that's not enough to sustain a 100 minute film. It gets repetitive. Plus, Lacant spends too much time with Marc and Bettina. I have no bad things to say about Katharina Schuttler, but let's face it, Bettina is the least interesting character in the movie. More time spent with Kay would have given the film a stronger impact. So little time is spent with him that the love story is DOA, primarily because Kay comes across as a petulant stalker.
If the film's romance would have taken off, those criticisms would have been forgivable. What kills the film is the tone. It's dull and lifeless. For example, no one laughs or smiles in this movie, it's always cold and gray, and no one shows a scintilla of emotion save for a few scenes. During a would-be intense scene, the lead character utters his dialogue as if he's in a library. In a movie like "The War Zone," this sort of thing works. That movie was dark and grim, and the lack of emotion made us wonder what the characters were thinking. "Free Fall" is not "The War Zone," could never be "The War Zone," and should never have tried to be "The War Zone."
It is impossible to sympathize with lifeless automatons, and that's why this movie fails.
Starring: Hanno Koffler, Max Riemelt, Katharina Schuttler
Not Rated (Probable R for Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Language and Some Violence)
What is it with all these indie filmmakers who think that the only way to make a good movie is to suck out all the emotion from it? Granted, there are some movies that do well to be told in an understated fashion, but a formula romance movie generally isn't one of them. It's not that the film is depressing (which it is). It's that its depressing without substance. There's nothing behind it, and as a result, it's a dead zone.
Marc (Koffler) is living the good life. He's training to become a police officer, is in love with the beautiful Bettina (Schuttler), and has a baby on the way. That's when he meets Kay (Riemelt), another man at the academy. They don't get along well at first, but Kay is interested in him...and not just as a friend. That's when Marc begins to have feelings that he has never experienced before. Things are getting complicated for Marc, especially with the baby on the way and a bunch of macho guys at the academy.
"Free Fall" makes a lot of wrong moves, and not a lot of right ones. Character development is sketchy; we don't know what makes any of these people tick (except for the obligatory homophobe, a guy named Limpinski, played by Shenja Lacher...it's an effective performance, surprisingly enough). The only sympathy we have for the characters is because of the charisma of the actors, which director Stephan Lacant (who co-wrote the screenplay, if you can believe it) does his best to muzzle. The film doesn't have a good sense of flow or balance (both of which are key for a romance). And, as is always the case for self-important arthouse movies like this, there are lots of handheld shots that distance us from the characters rather than establish a rapport.
The film is badly in need of focus. Lacant doesn't know what to concentrate on. I think he's more interested in Marc's inner turmoil, but that's not enough to sustain a 100 minute film. It gets repetitive. Plus, Lacant spends too much time with Marc and Bettina. I have no bad things to say about Katharina Schuttler, but let's face it, Bettina is the least interesting character in the movie. More time spent with Kay would have given the film a stronger impact. So little time is spent with him that the love story is DOA, primarily because Kay comes across as a petulant stalker.
If the film's romance would have taken off, those criticisms would have been forgivable. What kills the film is the tone. It's dull and lifeless. For example, no one laughs or smiles in this movie, it's always cold and gray, and no one shows a scintilla of emotion save for a few scenes. During a would-be intense scene, the lead character utters his dialogue as if he's in a library. In a movie like "The War Zone," this sort of thing works. That movie was dark and grim, and the lack of emotion made us wonder what the characters were thinking. "Free Fall" is not "The War Zone," could never be "The War Zone," and should never have tried to be "The War Zone."
It is impossible to sympathize with lifeless automatons, and that's why this movie fails.
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