After reading the many reviews on this film , to call the film racist , right-wing or trashy all I can say is you have missed the point. This film was very much a picture set in the early 90's. The Cold War won and the promised peace dividend was a recession in which the tired old ideas from government and authority had been flogged to death. Bill Foster ( D-Fens) was a casualty of that world with the tragic case of not knowing it. Because it can happen to anyone of us. Lose your job , then your wife , then your kid and then probably the dog. Angry at everyone around him , even his own mother , who probably gave him values of hard work gets rewarded. The family man had his life turned upside down . Discarded by his Company , redundant and the feeling of betrayal is very easy to understand. Note the scene , where the plastic surgeon , living a life of splendour and opulence , yet Bill Foster , who studied , worked , got on with his own inner private life had everything taken from him. The plastic surgeon , no good to anyone but the vain and the wealthy , a world that was now closed to Bill Foster. The Land of Opportunity had now turned into a living hell. Where advertisers promote products that are sub-standard.( note the whammy burger scene )Where street gangs ran rampant , yet if they actually had jobs to go to then drive by shootings may well be a rare event. We have the first victim of Bill Foster's angst as a Korean shopkeeper blatantly profiteers , it could've been an Indian or a white guy , these small-minded petty bourgouis people are out there...his race is an irrelevance. I secretly cheered as D-Fens made his own price adjustments.
The most profound scene for me was the black guy , outside the bank , shouting , Not Economically Viable. Bill Foster acknowledges him , as he is taken away in a car , that knowing look of empathy and solidarity. The best is always the killing of the neo-nazi. When the arm store guy tells him that they are the same , Bill Foster says no , Im an American and your a sick f**k. Michael Douglas was great in that film. Playing Bill Foster was for me anyway , his best ever role. Robert Duvall was brilliant as the retiring cop.Facing a day , when it can so easily end in tears. Barbara Hershey was also good as Bill Foster's wife , who at times was neurotic , but believable. I actually wished for a very different ending , you already felt watching the film , that it could end in just one way. The missile scene was over-done. It wasn't nessacary. If you wanted explosions the drive by shooting was a good place or even the Whammy burger joint. Falling Down was one of the best anti-hero films of its time. The observations and incidents , we have probably all been there in one form or another , except perhaps the arms store. Im giving Falling Down 9/10. Great film , great cast , bit over-zealous in places , but a little bit of Bill Foster lies in most of us...its just we dont know it yet. Lets pray we never have to.
The most profound scene for me was the black guy , outside the bank , shouting , Not Economically Viable. Bill Foster acknowledges him , as he is taken away in a car , that knowing look of empathy and solidarity. The best is always the killing of the neo-nazi. When the arm store guy tells him that they are the same , Bill Foster says no , Im an American and your a sick f**k. Michael Douglas was great in that film. Playing Bill Foster was for me anyway , his best ever role. Robert Duvall was brilliant as the retiring cop.Facing a day , when it can so easily end in tears. Barbara Hershey was also good as Bill Foster's wife , who at times was neurotic , but believable. I actually wished for a very different ending , you already felt watching the film , that it could end in just one way. The missile scene was over-done. It wasn't nessacary. If you wanted explosions the drive by shooting was a good place or even the Whammy burger joint. Falling Down was one of the best anti-hero films of its time. The observations and incidents , we have probably all been there in one form or another , except perhaps the arms store. Im giving Falling Down 9/10. Great film , great cast , bit over-zealous in places , but a little bit of Bill Foster lies in most of us...its just we dont know it yet. Lets pray we never have to.