The moment you cast your eyes on the first
scene in Falling Overnight you know something magical is going to overpower
you, not magical in the magical sense but magical in the magical manner, if you
know what I mean. I was most reminded of The Outsider by Albert Camus who so
eloquently presents the harshness of life leading you to believe there’s no
other metaphor closer to resembling life than death, and death to sex.
To the inexperienced, fiction normally
reveals truths that reality obscures, and these are those who might attempt to
take a dig at the fashion of how Chloe and Elliot meet simply because the clichéd
custom is that sparklers and chemistry occurs for two souls in order to connect
deeply over time, though the same people do not probably possess the faculty to
discern that connections don’t have to take eras to evolve; a flick of a moment
is all it takes for any two people who are meant to be together, to be together,
despite the dynamics.
To throw just a little light on the plot, I’d
say that the motion picture is based on twenty-two year old Elliot (Parker
Croft who also happens to be one of the executive producers and writers of the
film) who on a day before his surgery for a brain tumour runs into Chloe
(Emilia Zoryan) a charming young photographer who works at a café. The nearly
honest and exquisite journey they both embark on is one of the imperative focal
points of the film. The method in which the scenes have been authored and
treated are as if it were unfolding before you, and in contrast to other films
where you are made to empathise with the characters on the screen, the
characters here involve you so nattily in their life that you actually travel
the entire gamut of experiences just as they do. Subjects like these rarely
fall within the purview of the ‘commercial’ and get pushed under ‘art-house’
but the fact that the gap that the writers and the filmmaking team have managed
to bridge and balance by keeping the profound layers of the film intact and yet
appealing to the cross-sections of society from the youth to the well-informed
is laudable. For starters, the reality of how the man on the other side of the
telephone refuses to text Elliot the details or the middle-aged woman who loses
her temper when her cake hasn’t been made due to an error on the part of Chloe,
are some of the binding forces that cement your relationship with this film, not
forgetting that be it the modern depiction of Elliot having made his money in
the digital boom or the acuity of the art angle is a stellar virtue I quite revelled
in.
The fun Chloe makes of the dishevelled Elliot’s
accent is cute and commendable: it certainly takes maturity to laugh at
oneself. Chloe’s brother introducing himself when he meets Elliot for the first
time is a striking scene. In the hands of an average writer or director it
would have appeared crass, but here it is presented with such élan that it
lends the much-warranted depth to the humour and elevates it to an entire new echelon.
Parker is quite like that – gruff, but immensely sensitive. Emilia’s charisma
lies quite literally in her euphoric, yet subdued simplicity. The supporting
cast, the soundtrack, and the loveliness of the cinematography are commendable,
and that said it is next to impossible to list the umpteen nuances this film
unravels scene after scene. Every time I watch it, I learn something new, just
like you do with literature, art or wine. Nevertheless, if I were asked
impulsively to make an inventory of the three points that moved me then I would
begin with how I first met one of the prettiest girls much under the similar
circumstances as Chloe and Elliot. At a party she walked up to me and asked for
my phone, saved her number and asked me to call her. Ever since then we have
been soul mates. Some might ask – Just like that? Yes, just like that. The
second is the conversation Chloe and Elliot have about why his family isn’t around
to take care of him. It is true indeed that at times those whom we want and
love the most are the people we would want to be away from in order to breathe
and feel who we really are. Third, the parley with regards the meaning of what
it means to live, and yet foretaste the impending fear of death; that is something
that we could, any one of us, face at any moment in our lives and yet we are so
oblivious to it simply because we like to supress what unsettles us. Therefore
that fragment entered my bloodstream and with delicate introspection it transformed
how I viewed life, offering me with a certain kind of renewed vigour to look at
the storm in the eye and take life, as life wants me to take it – bravely.
Many marvellous movies have been made, but Falling
Overnight is one that would settle in the hearts and minds of those whom it
touches. And isn’t that the calling of mankind? That if it could make a
difference to even one person in life, then the purpose of life is actually accomplished.
I reckon I ought to stop now because giving any more away would be unfair and more
than anything else it would be compromising the content that needs to be
watched and absorbed, and take my word, it surprises you with its uprightness. To
conclude I’d like to state that in a world that claims it is the flaw that
makes a piece a masterpiece, very rarely does one come across a motion picture
this complete – it is as if it’s flawless, almost!
PS: Watch out for this team because the
last time I checked with Parker he was busy writing his next screenplay and no
matter how it turns out it will always be a winner for those who believe in him
and his science of life.
