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Created Dec 12, 2008 09:39PM PST • Edited Dec 12, 2008 09:39PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   An great cinematic peice of art. I can’t ever remember seeing a movie where nearly every scene visually grabs you in addition to exhibiting great acting, direction, and storytelling. Most movies that try to be visually stunning fail to also have an engaging plot, but “The Fall” won’t dissapoint you like that. The film centers on the girl Alexandria (Katerina Untaru) who wanders in a hospital where she is recuperating and befreinds a newly parapalegic man named Roy (Lee Pace). Roy recounts an esoteric fable of a band out outcasts who seek revenge on a common evil enemy. The fable serves as the basis for the film’s remarkable cinematic adventures, but the real gem lies with the interaction of Alexandra, Roy, and the other characters and experiences in the hospital. The fable and the reality of the hospital meld together and support each other as the story is told, and the story manages to also mix in some very emotional moments that you wouldn’t otherwise expect.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Alexandria (Katerina Untaru from Romania) does a remarkable job for someone so young, and for someone whom English is a second language. Lee Pace is humorous and believable as a thoughtful storytelling patient who also stars in the fable.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    Apparently this was filmed in 18 countries and the production spanned several years. I cetrainly can believe the film locations part of that assertion based upon the dramatic ever-changing scenery that sometimes showed well known landmarks (Pyramids, Great Wall, Taj Mahal and more) that could not have possibly be conjured. The fact that director Tarsem Singh goes this far to acheive is vision is remarkable and pays off.

11. Direction Really Great 4.5

12. Play Really Great 4.5

13. Music Really Great 4.5

14. Visuals Really Great 4.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 2.7

    Some violent scenes earn this movie an R rating — but I didn’t think it was so bad.

17. Sex Erotic 2.7

18. Violence Brutal 2.7

19. Rudeness Profane 2.7

21. Reality

    Surreal 2.8

    More realistic than first impressions might lead you.

22. Circumstantial Surreal 2.8

23. Biological Surreal 2.8

24. Physical Surreal 2.8