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Rating: There can be various reasons for choosing to watch a film... For "Falling" (Story of a Father), I was intrigued by a recommendation from a cinephile friend of mine who suggested the film also because, in a secondary yet unique role, it featured director David Cronenberg, known for films that stand apart from mainstream cinema (from "Videodrome" onward...). And indeed, seeing him act as a proctologist (specifically the specialist who conducts the urological examination, just to be clear...) makes for quite a scene. There he is, wearing the standard coat and surgical gloves, while the patient (?!) lies on the examination table. Fortunately, the subsequent details are not shown, while nevertheless, the viewer (lucky them…) sits and watches just a film...
But beyond these minor colorful notes, "Falling" (Story of a Father) deserves appropriate attention for various reasons. Director Viggo Mortensen (already a competent actor and just remembering him in "Green Book" would suffice) tackles a current theme in contemporary society: the struggle many people face with aging and all that comes with it. However, unlike Florian Zeller's "The Father," it does not objectify the distorted perception of reality by an elderly person affected by senile dementia. Rather, through various flashbacks, it broadens the narrative, touching on a related theme of generational conflict.
In short, we see the elderly Willis (played by an excellent Lance Henriksen) who is finding it increasingly difficult to independently carry out daily activities. His son John (Viggo Mortensen), residing in California, suggests he move there. But easier said than done, as father Willis has an irascible and stubborn character. Just imagine what a man like him, a convinced voter of the Yankee Republican Party, might think about the morals and customs of what he sees as the debauched Californian society? For him, it is inexplicable that his son John is a gay man living with a Sino-Hawaiian man of color and with an adopted child. And it's not better with his other daughter named Sarah, still a modern woman with children who have dyed blue hair. For an old-style man like him, all this is just a source of arguments, and who knows how this family dialectical duel would continue if that urological visit, which I mentioned earlier, didn't become necessary. Due to a suspected colon tumor, an operation will be required, giving Willis the chance to reconsider past choices and find a way to coexist with his son and other family members.
Directed with a steady hand by Mortensen and supported by excellent performances from all the actors and actresses, the work constitutes a sincere representation of the failure of a masculinist model. Willis, a character who inspires little empathy, was raised with the mentality of a man who dictates laws at home and in the family, doesn't have to ask because everything is owed to him. It's no surprise that he is seen at one point, sitting in the kitchen watching an old film with John Wayne on TV. That is his model of male reference. It's not surprising then that at a certain point, his wife left him due to misunderstandings while he was getting involved with a younger woman. And it is also obvious that one day his son, in reaction, discovered he was homosexual.
It emerges, as further confirmation, that those who cling to old traditions are caught off guard by the innovations that confront us daily. Meanwhile, change is synonymous with life, and stagnation leads to the end (as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus already maintained). And this can then be intuited by Willis himself, precisely after having had to deal with health (a urological visit can also help in this regard...).
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