FALLING DOWN

William Foster/D-FENS: Michael Douglas Prendergast: Robert Duvall Beth: Barbara Hershey Sandra: Rachel Ticotin Directed by Joel Schumacher. Written by Ebbe Roe Smith. Running Time: 112 minutes. Rated R (for violence and offensive language).

The trials and tribulations of living in a city is an experience I know all too well. At times, the city can be as harsh and deadly as the stormy seas. On some days it just seems like the city is intentionally trying to break you down and drive you mad. The arduous traffic delays, the incessant noise and fumes, unavoidable contact with the homeless, etc. It may be cause for any man to lose control of his sanity. In Falling Down, one man does.

In the opening scene we turn our eye on a crowded LA freeway. Nothing is moving, as we see wall to wall traffic. It is a scorching day making the pollution around the city even more visible and worse. It looks like hell. We focus on a man, as he waits for the traffic to clear. He looks like an average "Joe" on his way to work like any other person. Then we begin to see what he sees. Images flash on the screen, as we take in our surroundings. The incessant sights of the city finally breaks him and forces him to get out of the car. "Where are you going?" asks a driver who probably has the same feelings as him. "I'm going home," replies the man. With a briefcase in hand, the man decides to walk the streets of LA. This is not always the best choice for a white man, wearing a shirt and a tie.

So starts our journey about a man, who just wants to attend his daughter's birthday. Unaware of his name, the police decide to call him D-FENS, after his license plate. The man's real name is William Foster, who is played by the veteran Michael Douglas. He is a Los Angeles man, who a few years ago thought he was living the American dream. He was a well-paid defense worker and he had a loving wife and daughter. There seemed to be no cause for worry. Unfortunately, those American dreams did not last long, as the walls around him collapsed. He lost his job and his family. During the movie, we find out that he had showed signs of violence against his wife and child, which caused his divorced, and a court order that prevents him from approaching them. We see where the source of his anger comes from.

We see that Foster is unhinged and can snap easily given the right scenario. It doesn't help when he starts collecting tools that can easily vent his frustrations. My friend once described this movie as a video game, where our main character gets a bigger and better weapon at the end of every encounter, which I tend to agree. The weapons grow from a baseball bat to a duffel bag of automatic weapons.

We witness his rage in his first encounter at the grocery store. Foster asks for change so he can use the telephone, which he is then flatly refused by the Korean owner. The owner tells him he has to buy something. He tries to buy a can of soda, but the change from the dollar would not be enough for a phone call. His frustration appears when he grabs the owner's baseball bat and starts swinging, taking down piles of junk food and cans of diet soda. The owner quickly quells the situation by lowering the price to suit the man's needs.

Foster keeps walking. During the course of the day he will meet and confront, Latino gang members (who want to steal his briefcase), fast food workers (who tell him it's too late for him to order breakfast), a neo-Nazi gun-shop owner (who wants him to join) and other characters, whose purpose is to fuel his anger even more. Foster's ability to attract and meet this kind of unwanted attention is uncanny.

Foster becomes a representative of the common man, as he vents all of the frustrations that has plagued the public for years in a democratic and capitalist society. We secretly begin to root for Foster, even though we know who he is and that what he is doing is legally wrong, yet you won't find anyone in the theatre objecting to his behavior.

Eventually Foster's incidents comes to the attention of a cop named Prendergast (Robert Duvall), who is on his last day on the job. He seems like the only one who can put together the scattered reports and deduce that the same guy is causing the series of disturbances.

The movie throws us a loop by revealing how Prendergast, in his own way, is suffering from the same problems that Foster is facing. What can we deduce from this? Everyone has the same trouble and turmoil that Foster is going through. Are we allowed to go on a rampage then?

It seems that Prendergast is also entitled from what we see. Prendergast also feels the city's burden, as he becomes empty and obsolete. His superior officer tells him that he is sick of him. Prendergast is not divorced, but it is evident that the marriage is not working. His wife thinks he is having an affair with his beautiful and younger partner, Sandra (Rachel Ticotin). He tries to calm her nerves, but to no avail. We get the feeling that he likes to be at work than at his home.

The story builds to a final confrontation between Douglas and Duvall, two men of opposite circumstances. It is between a man who has snapped, and a man who has held together, despite the same pressures. The situation calls for us to choose a side, but we have no clue, who to pick. And yes I am aware that Prendergast is a cop and it is his last day.

While watching this movie, I had to confirm one important thought that has plagued me throughout this review. Was William Foster driven to madness or was he crazy before this journey? I have to believe the latter, as he was already unstable before he got out of the car. Would a rational man, begin to walk around aimlessly?

Besides, do you consider a man destroying a grocery store rational just because of the inflationary prices he has to pay? Why couldn't he buy gum instead? Yes I agree that the prices they charge are outrageous (How much for a half a gallon of milk?), but does it warrant destroying someone else's property and livelihood. This is the thin line that separates the rational from the irrational.

We do however see that Foster is not the real villain, the city is, as it always imposes his objective. After all, it was the city that caused him to go into this frenzy. Throughout the whole movie, he seems weary and confused in his actions. We sympathize with Foster, as he becomes a lost soul wandering from scene to scene.

Despite the fact that Falling Down's plot does strike a nerve with the audience, it easily falls into perils of Hollywood movies. At some points, the movie doesn't know where it wants to go and quickly distracts us with humor. Is the movie a dark comedy or a humorous movie with dark themes? Falling Down does not take itself seriously and that is its downfall.

Joel Schumacher and Ebbe Roe Smith have tapped into our deepest and darkest feelings about certain issues in our culture and society. They clearly voice them in this movie, yet there is a contradiction. The man who is voicing them, isn't the most rational person in the world. He has gone through alot of turmoil that has caused him much stress. So what are we left to think? Is Foster right? Are we sane and the world around us is the instigator. Are we the victims or are we the ones who are crazy? Falling Down shows us their answer and it may leave a bitter taste in our mouths. Grade: C+

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