
On the day of his daughter's (Joey Singer) birthday, William "D-Fens" Foster (Michael Douglas) is trying to get to his estranged ex-wife's (Barbara Hershey) house to see his daughter. He has a breakdown and leaves his car in a traffic jam in Los Angeles and decides to walk. Along the way he stops at a convenience store and tries to get some change for a phone call but the owner, Mister Lee (Michael Paul Chan), does not give him change. This destabilizes William who then break... (Full plot summary below)
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On the day of his daughter's (Joey Singer) birthday, William "D-Fens" Foster (Michael Douglas) is trying to get to his estranged ex-wife's (Barbara Hershey) house to see his daughter. He has a breakdown and leaves his car in a traffic jam in Los Angeles and decides to walk. Along the way he stops at a convenience store and tries to get some change for a phone call but the owner, Mister Lee (Michael Paul Chan), does not give him change. This destabilizes William who then breaks apart the shop with a baseball bat and goes to an isolated place to drink a coke. Two gangsters (Agustin Rodriguez & Eddie Frias) threaten him and he reacts by hitting them with the bat. D-FENS continues walking and stops at a phone booth. The gangsters hunt him down with their gang and shoot at him but crash their car. William goes nuts and takes their gym bag with weapons proceeding in his journey of rage against injustice. Meanwhile Sergeant Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall), who is working on his last day before retirement, is following the wave of crimes and believes that the same man is responsible but the other detectives do not pay attention to him.
Leave your thoughts about Falling Down.
| San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFalling Down is the most interesting, all-out commercial American film of the year to date, and one that will function much like a Rorschach test to expose the secrets of those who watch it. |
| Reel Film ReviewsDavid NusairIt's a somewhat high-concept premise that's employed to consistently engrossing effect by filmmaker Schumacher... |
| Lawrence Journal-WorldJon NiccumOne of Schumacher's lone efforts that actually has some depth |
| New TimesLuke Y. ThompsonIt's half a really good movie, and half a mediocre one with a good actor. |
| Film Written MagazineAndrew HoweDouglas' portrayal of a man heading for the abyss is utterly convincing. |
| Deseret News (Salt Lake City)Chris HicksAt its heart, this is very dark satire, and there are a good many laughs. But there are times when one wishes that the comedy could remain with the problems being solved in less violent ways. |
| EmpirePhilip ThomasWhile the morality of D-Fens methods are questionable, there's a resonance about his reaction to everyday annoyances, and Michael Douglas' hypnotic performance makes it memorable. |
| Rolling StonePeter TraversSchumacher could have exploited those tabloid headlines about solid citizens going berserk. Instead, the timely, gripping Falling Down puts a human face on a cold statistic and then dares us to look away. |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFalling Down does a good job of representing a real feeling in our society today. It would be a shame if it is seen only on a superficial level. |
| Filmcritic.comChristopher NullFalling Down offers an interesting concept that is handled with the grace of a psycho wielding a baseball bat. |