Courtesy of IMDb
Eric Schaeffer’s Fall is a smart and well-crafted romantic film. The plot alone is intriguing, with its story about a taxi driver and a model starting a relationship together. This undertaking seems to be destined to fail and completely implausible. One’s knee-jerk response is: “That can never work.” However, Fall tries to show the possibility of this impossible relationship.
Fall is about Michael Shiver (Eric Schaeffer), a taxi driver in New York City. Michael spends his time writing poetry and hanging out with two close female friends, Robin (Francie Swift) and Sally (Lisa Vadel). One day, Michael picks up a model named Sarah (Amanda de Cadenet) in his cab. He instantly becomes fascinated by her and tries to convince her into going out with him. Sarah is amused at Michael’s direct approach but turns him down.
A couple of days later, Michael spots Sarah walking down the street, and they strike up a conversation. Michael asks Sarah out again, and this time, she accepts. Michael and Sarah begin to see each other frequently, and their feelings for each other begin to grow into something much more. However, things start to become complicated when they begin questioning who they are and what they exactly want from each other.
Eric Schaeffer’s Michael is a romantic who believes unwaveringly in love. Michael becomes immediately drawn to Sarah when he first picks her up in his cab. He engages her attention by making her laugh and asking her out, without any hesitation. His confidence intrigues Sarah, who cannot help but become curious about Michael. When Sarah finally accepts Michael’s invitation, he does everything in his power to not lose her. He sees that their time together is fleeting and could end quickly, without notice.
Michael woos Sarah by writing poetry for her, which surprises her. She is amazed at how good a writer he is. Michael takes Sarah to meet his friends and quickly brings her into his world. He tries to show her how the “normal” people live, which Sarah greatly enjoys. As Michael and Sarah begin to develop deeper feelings for each other, they begin to see the realistic aspects of their relationship. They both start to feel unsure of themselves and try to adapt to each others’ lifestyles. However, their insecurities and secrets come forth and have them pondering the future of their relationship.
I really enjoyed Fall, and after watching it, I was amazed that it is not well-known. Fall is what I would consider a serious romantic film. Eric Schaeffer does not rely on clichés or sappy scenes to keep the plot continuously moving. Instead, he has several long scenes of intelligent dialogue between Michael and Sarah. Both Schaeffer and de Cadenet bring an understated brilliance to their performances that comes off as being real. I highly recommend Fall for its great interpretation of two people with polar opposite lives falling in love and attempting to make a relationship work.
