Falling Down

Falling Down is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Joel Schumacher. The film stars Michael Douglas in the lead role of William Foster (credited as "D-Fens"), a divorcee and unemployed former defense engineer. The film centers on Foster as he goes on a violent rampage across the city of Los Angeles, trying to reach the house of his estranged ex-wife in time for his daughter's birthday party. Along the way, a series of encounters, both trivial and provocative, cause him to react with violence and make sardonic observations on life, poverty, the economy, and commercialism. Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall), an aging LAPD Sergeant on the day of his retirement, faces his own frustrations with socially-accepted spinelessness, even as he tracks down Foster.

The title of the film, referring to Foster's mental collapse, is taken from the title of the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down", which appears several times during the film. It also references London Bridge located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, which is where Prendergast's wife wants to relocate after he retires.

Plot

William stops at a convenience store to get change for a telephone call, but, when the Korean store owner (Michael Paul Chan) refuses to give change unless he buys something, William begins ranting at him for charging unreasonably high prices. The owner demands William to leave and he pulls out a baseball bat, which William forcibly takes, announces a rolling back of prices, and destroys much of the merchandise. William then pays 50 cents for an 85-cent can of Coca-Cola before leaving. William then stops on a hillside where he patches a hole in the sole of his shoe. He is then approached by two gang members who claim he is "trespassing" on their ground. They demand he pay a "toll" — his briefcase — and threaten him with a knife. William attacks the bandits with his bat. As the gang members flee, he places the knife in his pocket and continues his journey.

The two gang members, seeking revenge, pick up another gang member and cruise the streets until they find William using a phone booth in a run down neighborhood. The gang members spray the street with gun fire, hitting several bystanders, but leaving William unscathed. After the gangs car crashes, William taunts and then shoots the one surviving gang member in the leg, takes a gym bag filled with weapons from the wreckage, and walks away. In a nearby park, William encounters a panhandler asking for money even as William queries his phony hard-luck story. William gives the panhandler the briefcase, which, to his displeasure, contains only a sandwich and apple.

William next enters a Whammy Burger fast food restaurant and attempts to order breakfast, however, the switch to the lunch menu occurred three minutes prior to his arrival. After a tense argument with the patronizing manager, William draws a TEC-9 from the gym bag and accidentally fires into the ceiling. After trying to reassure the frightened employees and customers, William decides to order lunch, but is annoyed when the burger looks nothing like the one shown on the menu board. William leaves, tries to call Beth from a telephone booth, and then shoots the telephone to pieces when being hassled by someone who also wants to use the phone.

This string of events draws the attention of Prendergast (Robert Duvall), an LAPD sergeant, whose mentally ill wife (Tuesday Weld) and mocking co-workers constantly frustrate all aspects of his personal life. It's Prendergast's last day on the job before retirement, but he insists on investigating the crimes, much to the dismay of the police captain and squad, as well as Prendergast's spouse. Interviews with the witnesses at each scene lead Prendergast to realize that the same person may be responsible for these crimes. William's “D-FENS” vanity license plate proves to be an important lead, because Prendergast remembers being in a traffic jam earlier that day when someone matching the suspect's description stormed out of the freeway on foot. Prendergast and his partner, Detective Sandra Torres (Rachel Ticotin), realize William is heading toward his former family's home in Venice, California and rush to intercept him. They talk to William's mother, who says that her son blames her for his divorce, and is shocked that he has managed to keep losing his job a secret.

Continuing on his journey, William passes a bank where a man (dressed identically to Foster) is protesting at being rejected for a loan application. He is holding a sign stating that he is "not economically viable": the reason the bank gave for the rejection. William acknowledges the man as he is escorted away by police. William then buys a snowglobe as a birthday present for Adele and stops at a military surplus store to buy a new pair of shoes. The owner (Frederic Forrest), a white supremacist, has heard about the Whammy Burger event on his police scanner, and diverts Torres’ attention when she comes in to ask a few questions. After she leaves, he shows William his collection of Nazi paraphernalia, including a used can of Zyklon B. He offers William a rocket launcher from his weapons hoard, and congratulates him for shooting up "a bunch of niggers" at the Whammy Burger. When William expresses his distaste for the store owner's racism and attempts to leave, the proprietor pulls out a gun, smashes the snowglobe, and attempts to handcuff him. William stabs the store owner with the knife and then shoots and kills him. He changes into army fatigues and boots, takes the rocket launcher, and starts walking again.

Next, William encounters a road repair crew, whose members are not doing much actual work. Accusing them of doing unnecessary repairs to justify their budget, he pulls out the rocket launcher, but does not know how to use it. As William struggles with the rocket launcher, a young boy playing nearby explains how it works, claiming to have seen one used on TV. William accidentally fires the launcher, and blows up the construction site. His travels then bring him to a golf course, where he trespasses and a golfer angrily hits a ball in his direction. Fed up with the constant annoyances and attacks, William retaliates by shooting the man’s golf cart with a shotgun, causing it to roll into a nearby water hazard. The golfer suffers a heart attack and begs in vain for his medication, which is in the sinking cart.

Climbing over a wall, William cuts his hand on barbed wire and finds himself on the grounds of a mansion whose owner is out of town. He rages about this display of wealth to the first man he sees, one of the owner’s employees, then hides on the grounds with the man and his family as the police are heard at the golf course. He tells them about his troubles, and laments being discarded as obsolete after years of loyal service. The man offers to let William take him as a hostage if he will let his family go free. William explains that he has his own family, and that he is trying to get home to make things go back to the way they were before his divorce, and departs.

By the time William reaches Beth’s house, she has already called the police and has fled with Adele. As he watches home movies recorded during their marriage, he realizes that his frequent outbursts had put stress on his family. He also realizes that they may have gone to a nearby pier, but Prendergast and Torres arrive before he can go after them. Torres tries to enter at the rear of the house, but William wounds her with a gunshot and flees with Prendergast in pursuit.

At the end of Venice Fishing Pier, William confronts his ex-wife and daughter. His daughter is happy to see him, but his ex-wife is frightened as he forcefully kisses her, and she tries to keep him from Adele. Prendergast arrives on the pier, where he acknowledges William's complaints about being ill-treated by society, but does not accept that as an excuse for his violent rampage. While distracting William, Beth kicks away the gun as Prendergast draws his revolver, insisting that William give himself up.

William proposes an Old West-style showdown. Prendergast attempts to reason with William, who refuses to give himself up, saying he would not want his daughter to grow up with her father in prison, and if he dies, his ex-wife and daughter will get his life insurance policy. William then pulls a water gun on Prendergast, committing suicide by cop by forcing Prendergast to shoot him. Seeing a water stain on Prendergast's shirt, William laughs and says, "I would've gotcha," before falling dead into the ocean. Prendergast's supervisor, Captain Yardley, congratulates him on a job well done. Prendergast decides to postpone his retirement.

Cast

Box office and reception

Reviews for the film were positive, with a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 56 out of 100 on Metacritic. Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "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." Philip Thomas of Empire magazine wrote on his review of the film, "While 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." Roger Ebert, who gave the film a positive review at the time of its release, stated of William "D-Fens" Foster:

Controversy

Cultural references

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1993 films Category:1990s drama films Category:1990s thriller films Category:American black comedy films Category:American crime drama films Category:English-language films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Regency films Category:StudioCanal films Category:Edgar Award winning works Category:Films directed by Joel Schumacher Category:Films set in Los Angeles, California Category:Films shot anamorphically Category:Films shot in Los Angeles, California Category:Films set within one day Category:Gang films Category:Hood films Category:Vigilante films