Falling Down (1993)

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Michael Douglas stars as a white-collar divorcee who experiences a series of compounding frustrations on the way to his daughter’s birthday party. Eventually, his character snaps and begins reacting violently to every transgression, big or small. Whether it’s being denied a fast-food breakfast sandwich, being stuck in traffic due to a road closure, or being confronted by gang members, Douglas brings the guns out. In doing so, he attracts the attention of a retiring L.A. cop played by Robert Duvall, who the screenplay tasks with catching Douglas before he closes in on his estranged and frightened wife and daughter.

Falling Down is a gutsy but imperfect movie that plays in murky waters. Screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith and director Joel Schumacher start the film by putting us directly in Douglas’s shoes. His frustrations are relatable enough to make the film a reactionary sign-of-the-times piece. But near the half-way point, our connection with Douglas is tested by his encounter with a neo-Nazi store owner. And after that, Duvall’s character discovers backstory that further distances us from our would-be protagonist.

Falling Down could have been a more non-chalant grindhouse movie, or a more focused, tragic character study. But instead it asks audiences to cheer on an anarchist, and then punishes us for doing so. I kinda love that daring approach, but I’m not sure it lands so well with the mainstream.

There’s a beautiful scene that captures the tone of the movie and Douglas’s internal dilemma perfectly. After waiting in stand-still traffic forever, he takes out a bazooka and aims it at a seemingly lazy construction crew. But he’s never fired a bazooka before. A young boy rides up to him on a bicycle, thinking he’s part of a movie shoot, and tells him how to prep and aim the weapon. Douglas pauses for a moment — should this be something else that triggers his aggression? Instead, he asks, “How do you know about this?” The boy says, “I saw it on TV.”

The plotting in the last half is a little too convenient for a movie that’s, up to that point, pretty provocative. But as I’ve said many times — I’ll always prefer a messy, interesting movie to a tidy, uninteresting one. With Barbara Hershey, Rachel Ticotin, Tuesday Weld, Lois Smith, and Kimberly Scott.