Fallen (1998) - Strong cast in Hoblit's sub-par supernatural thriller

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Co-star Denzel Washington's visage hangs in the lowest part of this eerie, effective poster for Gregory Hoblit's Fallen

After detective Hobbes has seen his newly caught serial killer catch pass away in the electric chair, a new murderer strikes, leaving mysterious clues with connections to the executed killer and a hidden past ...

Fallen is written by Nicholas Kazan (Mobsters (1991)) and directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear (1996)).

Following an effective beginning, in which Elias Koteas (Let Me In (2010)) is seriously disgusting as the doomed criminal, (SPOILER who smokes a lot when he 'fries'), the film lives well on having brought together the stellar team of John Goodman (Treme (2010-11)), James Gandolfini (Surviving Christmas (2004)) and Donald Sutherland (Ordeal by Innocence (1984)) as colleagues to protagonist Denzel Washington (The Hurricane (1999)), who is well-acting throughout the increasingly wacky supernatural thriller.

Embeth Davidtz (Simon Magus (1999) gives a poor performance with a constant sad-face as the woman with knowledge of the past, which she is reluctant to reveal. SPOILER It all comes down to something about a malevolent soul, who changes body by touch! Fallen regrettably also becomes overlong as it explores its mumbo jumbo material.

 

Related posts:

Gregory Hoblit: Fracture (2007) - Gosling and Hopkins have it out in Hoblit's solid thriller 

Primal Fear (1996) - Hoblit's law thriller works due to a strong plot and great performances 

 

Washington gives a 4-minute interview about the film here

 

Cost: 46 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 25.2 mil. $ (North America only)

= Uncertain but likely a huge flop (projected return of 0.76 times its cost)

[Fallen was released 1 January (Romania) and runs 124 minutes. Washington was paid 12 mil. $ for his performance. Shooting took place from October 1996 - January 1997 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, California, including Los Angeles, New Jersey and New York. The film opened #3, behind holdover hit Titanic and fellow new release Good Will Hunting, to a 10.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5), grossing 25.2 mil. $. Regrettably the international gross numbers are not available. The 0.76 times return rests on a likely 35 mil. $ world total - a number which could also be higher. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. Hoblit returned with Frequency (2000). Washington returned in He Got Game (1998); Goodman in The Big Lebowski (1998); and Sutherland in Without Limits (1998). Fallen is rotten at 40 % with a 5.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Fallen?

Fracture (2007) - Gosling and Hopkins have it out in Hoblit's solid thriller

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The prestigious star faces look deviously (Anthony Hopkins) and intelligently (Ryan Gosling) out of the shadows on this simple poster for Gregory Hoblit's Fracture

Young lawyer comet Willy Beachum is about to leave public defending for a hefty private pay, but he still lets himself be assigned to what appears to be a straightforward attempted murder case, - but which turns out to be, in fact, frustratingly complex.

Fracture is written by Daniel Pyne (The People (1997)) and Glenn Gers (The Accountant (2000)) and directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear (1996)).
Ryan Gosling (Remember the Titans (2000)), - aged 27 at the film's release, - seems a bit young for his part here, but he acts well up to Anthony Hopkins (Desperate Hours (1990)), who sets his plastic face in its sadistic grooves as the accused husband.
Fracture is a very solid thriller with a couple of minor surprises; it is well-made and quickly digested. Its title bears no relevance for the story whatsoever.

Related post:

Gregory Hoblit: Primal Fear (1996) - Hoblit's law thriller works due to a strong plot and great performances

Watch a clip from the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 91.3 mil. $
= Uncertain - but likely a minor flop 
[Fracture premiered 11 April (Los Angeles, California) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles, in and around February 2006. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Disturbia, to an 11 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 2 weeks (#4-#3) and grossed 39 mil. $ (42.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 8.3 mil. $ (9.1 %) and the UK with 6.6 mil. $ (7.2 %). If the film was made on a likely 40 mil. $ budget, it returned 2.28 times its cost, making it a minor flop. Hoblit returned with Untraceable (2008). Hopkins returned in Slipstream (2007), Gosling in Lars and the Real Girl (2007). Fracture is certified fresh at 71 % with a 6.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Fracture?

Primal Fear (1996) - Hoblit's law thriller works due to a strong plot and great performances

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+ Best Shooting Star Actor of the Year: Edward Norton

Richard Gere is a defense lawyer caught in the shadows of what he does on the poster for Gregory Hoblit's Primal Fear

Primal Fear is the screen feature debut of Texan filmmaker Gregory Hoblit (Hart's War (2002)), an adaptation of William Diehl's (Sharky's Machine (1978)) same-titled 1993 novel by Steve Shagan (Gotti (1996)) and Ann Biderman (Copycat (1995)).

We follow Chicago's leading defense attorney, as he takes a high-stakes case pro bono: A young altar boy who claims amnesia is captured and suspected of the gruesome killing of the city's archbishop.

Primal Fear has an air of reality to its plot and characters, and together with the complex protagonist, - who is not at all a good guy, but more of a guy who's trying to justify to himself (and a reporter who follows him around) that the stuff that he does for a living is alright, - this makes for a compelling film.
The primal fear of the film's title I take to refer to the lead character's dilemma as a defense lawyer: How can I be certain you're telling me the truth? And in extension of that question; how can I make sure that I am safe from you, and everyone out there? (The primal fear being that we can't, of course, make sure that we get the truth from anyone, or that we're safe, ever.)

The details:

While the photography and score is alright craftsmanship but not inspired or memorable in any way, the acting performances are strong, and they heighten the suspense and entertainment value of this rather dark neo-noir treat:
Richard Gere (Pretty Woman (1990)) is great as our capable but morally questionable hero, and so is Laura Linney (Mr. Holmes (2015)) as the equally capable prosecutor, whom he has had an affair with. Their chemistry and seriousness are admirable. But for many it is Oscar-nominated Edward Norton (The Score (2001)), in his screen debut, who shines in Primal Fear and steals the movie as the sheepish alter boy. Predicting the outcome of this thriller is a major part of its attraction. And even if you guess right (as I did), it's a good film.
The cast is also adorned with such good actors as Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge (2014), TV-miniseries) as a psychiatrist, Alfre Woodard (Annabelle (2014)) as the boozing judge, and John Mahoney (Frasier (1993-04)), who, however, is sort of too nice to portray the power-mad character he is given here.
SPOILER The dual identity/personality disorder theme was hot in the 1990s: Norton would go on to portray someone who seriously suffers from it in Fight Club (1999), and another of the decade's most memorable thrillers, The Usual Suspects (1995)) also relies on the device.

 

Related post:

 

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 102.6 mil. $
= Box office success
[Primal Fear opened #1 to a 9.8 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for a total of three April weeks, before The Quest (1996) took over. It grossed 56.1 mil. $ (54.7 % of the total gross) domestically. Norton lost the supporting actor Oscar to Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire (1996). Primal Fear is fresh at 74 % with a 6.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Primal Fear?