Starring: Maisie Williams, Florence Pugh, Maxine Peake
Director: Carol Morley
Rating: 4/5
The Falling
Carol Morley is one of the most exciting British directors around and has moved comfortably between documentary and live action during that time. She returns to the director's chair this week with The Falling, which is her first live action film since Edge back in 2012.
I have been a huge fan of Morley for some time, with Edge and documentary Dreams of a Life being two terrific films that really should be checked out if you are not familiar with her work. It is always exciting to see her back in the director's chair and she doesn't disappoint with The Falling.
Set in 1969 in a rural British girls' school, The Falling explores what lies behind a mysterious fainting and twitching outbreak that rapidly spreads amongst the pupils. At the centre of the epidemic are intense and clever Lydia Lamont (Williams) and admired and rebellious Abbie Mortimer (Pugh), both sixteen years old.
As the fainting escalates, Lydia confronts the authority figures around her: her mother, self-absorbed home hairdresser Eileen (Peake), the unbending and indomitable deputy head Miss Mantel (Greta Scacchi), and the enigmatic and powerful headmistress Miss Alvaro (Monica Dolan). Eventually Lydia's actions force old secrets to rise to the surface and she finds herself faced with a truth that she never expected.
The Falling is unlike anything that Morley has delivered before and it really does cement her as a versatile and exciting British filmmaker. She beautifully blends the supernatural elements with the coming of age thread to a movie that is alluring and entertaining.
What I like so much about The Falling, it is does leave you thinking back to your own teenage years and how lost you felt at time during that period. Another major plus point for this film is that it is told from a female point of view.
So few movies explore female coming of age, female sexual awakening, and the potential fears that they do have of the opposite sex. Morley has explored these themes in an interesting way as she has mixed the supernatural elements with some great moments of humour.
Maisie Williams is best known for her role as Arya Stark in television show Game of Thrones, but The Falling is one of the biggest film roles of her career to date. Lydia is a complex role for the young actress and yet she really does thrive as she peels back the layers and explores the difficult relationships that Lydia has in her life.
Williams really does establish herself as a young acting talent that we should keep an eye on and I am looking forward to see how she develops on the big screen over the next few years.
The Falling also introduces us to new acting talent Florence Pugh, as she makes her debut in the role of Abbie. You would not know that she is such an inexperienced actress as she is really allowed to shine in this role. I am excited to see what she does for her next project and I hope to see her reunite with Morley in the future.
The Falling was being tipped as one of the British movies not to miss this year, and Morley really has delivered a coming of age film that is unlike anything else you will see this year.
We caught up with both Carol Morley and Florence Pugh this week to chat about The Falling.