Cast:
Jürgen Prochnow .... Jozsef Kovacs
Craig Sheffer .... Adam Ellis
Hélène de Fougerolles .... Marta
Kymberley Huffman .... Lisa Warrington
Philip Quast …. Peter Bradley
Kiss Soo Garay .... Josophine
Synopsis:
In Budapest, two Americans live together. Adam, a former Manhattan prosecutor trying to write his first novel, and Lisa, a cool hard-working financier who idolises her boss (former Communist turned deal maker, Kovacs). Cut to the subway, where two tough guys are pursuing a blond woman. She manages to surprise one of them in a hallway, dispatching him with a straight razor, and she barges into Adam's apartment to elude the other. She tells Adam her name is Marta and on the verge of hysteria, claims to be running from a madman who for three years has held her prisoner in his house, a story that implicates Kovacs.
Adam wants to call the police, but Marta insists he would be wasting his time,
her captor has friends in high places. Seduced by this sensuous woman, Adam
agrees to help her, not realising he and Lisa will be drawn into a world where
nothing is at it seems and no one can be trusted. Slowly Adam, Lisa, Marta,
Kovacs, and her pursuer draw toward a showdown.
Philip Quast's character Peter Bradley works with Lisa in a large corporate organisation. Philip's character does not appear much in this film. He is in only four brief scenes, the first of which he says nothing, merely walks through a room and catches Lisa's eye...camera pans to him walking away and then he calmly turns to look at her with a big smile and gives a beautiful wink. He speaks twice in three more scenes and in the last he has a wonderful line.
He appears dressed to the nines and is supposed to be suave, debonair,
extremely attractive man I might add; in short, quite a ladies man. His
character really has nothing to do with the main theme of the film....just adds
a little spice to it. He is just a pretty face for Lisa to flirt with.
The Gallery:
A Review of The Fall by Eileen.
It was with some trepidation that I sat down to write this review, as it's my first. It has taken three viewings to try and get this story right in my mind. I'm still not sure if I have, but here goes...
The plot is rather confusing, mainly because nothing is as it seems. It is sometimes so off-kilter as to be almost schizophrenic, and it almost seems to be two separate films...one depicting what's going on in Adam's life and one which shows us Lisa's life away from Adam.
The opening scenes set the tone for Adam's story....even the beautiful city of Budapest seems dark and foreboding. Two men are pursuing a beautiful young girl through the city.
The girl, Marta, brutally kills one of her pursuers and escapes the other. Nothing gives us any clues into neither her behaviour nor why she's being pursued. She eventually makes her way to the flat of an American called Adam Ellis. It seems she takes sanctuary in this particular flat as it was her home at some time in the past. The scenes with Adam in the flat further add to the paranoia, as there is mistrust on both sides, even though Adam and Marta seem to be drawn to each other.
Adam is a disillusioned lawyer who has come to Budapest to start a new life as a writer. He is living with his girlfriend Lisa, but their relationship is going through somewhat of a rocky patch. She is very involved with big business, the economic rebuilding of the now capitalist Budapest, and she seems rather bored with Adam. She has a very important function to attend. The man behind most of the economic recovery of Budapest is coming to open the new hotel she has been involved with setting up. His name is Kovacs and he is a former communist, who is now embracing capitalism with open arms. Adam has absolutely no interest in her work. In fact, he openly despises Kovacs. Lisa leaves for the function where her present indifference to Adam is supported by her attraction to one of her associates, Peter Bradley, with whom she openly flirts and is obviously drawn to.
Peter Bradley is the opposite
of Adam. He is suave, sophisticated, very sexy, and he is dressed to kill, in
an immaculate suit and tie. He flirts with her, and the signals he is giving
lead her to believe he's interested in her. After some champagne has loosened
any inhibitions she may feel, she asks him to dinner. He responds hesitantly to
Lisa's invitation. He looks rather sheepishly at the woman he's been talking to
and declines...it becomes clear to Lisa that he is already involved with this
woman, Klara. Klara looks knowingly at Lisa and asks her if she understands.
From Klara's expression it would seem this happens regularly, and Peter is one
of those men who cannot help but flirt with attractive women. Lisa, somewhat
stunned, does understand. She realises his flirting means nothing and she
leaves them alone.
Back to Adam's flat.... Adam knows Marta has killed at least once...she still has the blood stained razor in her garter! Marta throws herself on his mercy and through flashbacks we see the life she describes to Adam. She was happily settled with her husband and daughter before Kovacs came into her life. Yes, the same Kovacs! She weaves a story of obsession, rape and imprisonment, and says the man who has done this to her is Kovacs. She managed to escape his clutches and says her daughter is, as they speak, making her own way to Adam's flat. She is terrified that Kovacs will get hold of her daughter.
Adam is kept guessing as to whether she is telling the truth and so is the audience. Is Kovacs an evil villain or is he really the economic saviour of the city. Is she a victim, or is there a darker side to Marta? Adam wants to believe her...he is attracted to her and she eventually seduces him. He then makes a tragic mistake that affects everyone in the film. We don't yet know it is a mistake. We know what Adam knows, which is only what Marta has told him. We hope all will be revealed eventually, but it is not until the final scenes that we get finally get an answer. This movie could, at a stretch, be compared to a Hitchcock film in that we are kept guessing until the very end. However, the master usually gave us some clues to latch on to, and characters to empathise with. That was sadly lacking in this film and I'm afraid by the end, I didn't really care who was telling the truth....I only wanted to go back and watch the scenes with Peter Bradley again. Why? I hear you ask...well...I'm not telling you! Oh...OK then....
Even though Philip Quast is merely a featured player in this film, it does a very fine job of presenting the extraordinary good looks of this extraordinarily talented actor. As with all of Philip's roles, no matter how briefly he may appear onscreen, each is separate and unique from any of his other characterisations. This certainly speaks well of the man's abilities. You really have to see this film to appreciate just how gorgeous Philip Quast is in this role. He is everything Peter Bradley should be. From his first entrance, he commands your attention. Every woman's eyes will be riveted on him.... he looks absolutely stunning. The sexiest man in the company, Lisa calls him, and she's right. Lucky Klara is all I can say.
Having said that...I hope you will want to view this film not simply because Philip Quast is in it...whilst the story doesn't completely hang together and it is confusing...the plot is an interesting one. But be warned...this film contains graphic violence and gratuitous sex. Did we really have to see the porn film showing on the TV as the main characters were talking? But as one of our other reviewers has said, that's what the fast-forward button is for.
The Gallery Section 2:
Sound waves:
We would like to thank Eileen and Stella for providing us with the above information and video.
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