Falling
| Release Date: February 5, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedFeb 11, 2021
Powerful, persuasive and insightful, Falling is a sensitive and beautifully composed film that marks the formidable directing debut of the wonderful actor Viggo Mortensen. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeFeb 1, 2020
Falling doesn't transform its emotional landscape into a simple question of rejection or forgiveness. It's comfortable knowing that meanness and affection can exist in the same person, and that tolerance, even when it only flows in one direction, benefits both giver and recipient. Read full review
88
ABC NewsPeter TraversFeb 5, 2021
Viggo Mortensen scores a standout directing debut, showing the artful sensitivity and offbeat humor that define him as an actor with this heart-piercing drama in which he stars as a gay son coping with the dementia of his racist father (a career-best Lance Henriksen). Read full review
85
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzFeb 1, 2021
Mostly, Falling succeeds because Mortensen is playing by his own uncompromising rules. The result is a vision that may grate, but will never be lost to memory Read full review
85
TheWrapSteve PondFeb 1, 2020
Falling is a finely drawn character drama, as you might expect from much of Mortensen’s acting career, and a film that pays attention to small details that bring these people to life. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisFeb 4, 2021
Some scenes scrape your senses like sandpaper, while others are so tender they’re almost destabilizing. Together, they shape a picture that’s tragically specific, yet more comfortable with mystery than some viewers might prefer. Read full review
80
EmpireJohn NugentDec 17, 2020
A bold, brave first effort behind the camera for Viggo Mortensen, elegantly distilling some painful truths for anyone who has ever had a complicated relationship with a parent. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 3, 2020
It’s a really valuable work, beautifully edited and shot, with a wonderful performance by the veteran actor Lance Henriksen: a sombre, clear-eyed look at the bitter endgame of dementia. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 1, 2020
Falling is unpretentious and perfectly accessible to mainstream audiences. Mortensen’s patience, his way with actors and his trust in our intelligence are not unlike late-career Eastwood, which isn’t a bad place to be so early in one’s directing career. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzFeb 5, 2021
This is not the kind of film you put on during a holiday when you want something that the extended family can relax and enjoy. This is bitter, sharp stuff, verging on the Paul Schrader film Affliction but without the murder plot. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayFeb 3, 2021
Viggo Mortensen makes a sensitive and assured directing debut with Falling, a meditation on aging, mortality and slow-drip loss that will resonate deeply with anyone going through the agonies it depicts. Read full review
60
CineVueAdam LowesDec 10, 2020
What we are ultimately left with is a well-made, consummately-performed drama – Laura Linney shines in a small role as John’s equally exasperated younger sister – which unfortunately falls a little short of the intended emotional catharsis Mortensen is reaching for. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeDec 6, 2020
The directorial debut of Viggo Mortensen, which he also wrote and stars in, is an empathetic but gruelling account of a father-son relationship. Read full review
58
IndieWireDavid EhrlichSep 16, 2020
Mortensen’s first effort behind the camera never settles into the expected grooves of its genre or premise. On the contrary, the film vibrates at its own unrecognizable frequency as soon as it starts, and only allows for easy categorization during the clunkier moments when it bumps against clichés like a boat that would rather crash into lighthouses than use them for guidance. Read full review
58
The Film StageJordan RaupFeb 1, 2020
Mortensen is clearly attuned to the emotional toll of maintaining such a relationship—loving someone even if they don’t show any love back—but once this idea is firmly laid out early on, the repetitive narrative doesn’t expand to reveal more layers of complexity. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 8, 2021
The well-intentioned drama never makes the case why a decent man would stay close to his detestable father. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattFeb 4, 2021
Barring any greater lessons on motivation or forgiveness, the movie becomes little more than an endurance test; one far easier — at least for the viewer — to fall away from than to stay. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinFeb 4, 2021
Ultimately, this grueling, overlong picture — think a chamber piece but with multiple characters and locations — never zeroes in on what it wants us to think or feel about Willis or John. But if it’s sympathy, it doesn’t get there. Read full review
50
Original-CinKaren GordonFeb 3, 2021
It’s a heartfelt film that seems to be aimed at the strength of familiar love in spite of difficulties. The elements are all there, but the film’s repetitive structures render it frustratingly flat. Read full review
50
ConsequenceJoe LipsettSep 16, 2020
Despite great direction by Mortensen, who also delivers a strong performance alongside Henriksen and (briefly) Linney, Falling is a repetitive and exhausting exercise that never gets around to unpacking why the audience should care about its ailing patriarch character. It’s too long and too one note for too little pay-off. Read full review
42
The PlaylistRobert DanielsFeb 1, 2020
It ultimately crashes into a heap due to a host of rambling non-connective ideas and tonally grating dialogue. Read full review
30
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiFeb 9, 2021
Where there could have been thoughtful, poignant commentary about life’s regrets and the turmoil that can continue to permeate a father-son relationship over time, Mortensen drops the ball completely. Without a cohesive story, Falling spirals and offers little beyond good performances. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFeb 25, 2021
As Baby Boomers continue to dominate the culture through sheer numbers, you can expect more movies about demented parents. But a good rule of thumb for those who’d attempt such a story in the future should be this: If you want us to care about crazy old Dad, show us that he was once something more than an abusive sperm donor. Show us that he was once a decent father. Read full review
20
SlashfilmJason GorberSep 17, 2020
Falling fails hard, unable to generate sympathy for its protagonists and relying entirely on the charms of its writer/director to sustain interest. It’s a shame, as Mortensen’s a fine performer with a strong legacy, but the film feels like the worst kind of passion project, one that forgot to bring the audience in for what amounts to a film more masturbatory than moving. Read full review
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