The Falling review

Girls on the verge of a breakdown...

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Swirling with mystery, regret and compassion, Morley’s impressive fiction carries on where her docudrama Dreams Of A Life left off.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Girls on the verge of a breakdown...

Writer/director Carol Morley’s follow-up to sad, mysterious breakthrough Dreams Of A Life confirms her place among a new wave of British filmmakers – among them Andrea Arnold, Clio Barnard, Steve McQueen, Ben Wheatley and Peter Strickland – intent on fashioning personal, challenging, mood-soaked dramas.

Set at an austere girls’ school in 1969, The Falling centres on the tight bond between the bright Lydia (Game Of Thrones’ Maisie Williams) and beautiful, precocious Abbie (newcomer Florence Pugh). Sadly, at 16, BFFs are prone to be torn asunder by external and internal forces, and so it proves when Abbie confides that she’s no longer a virgin, describing orgasm as “a little death”.

A sliver of space opens up between the girls and the air is further contaminated by Lydia’s dysfunctional relationship with her agoraphobic mother (Maxine Peake). Abbie faints, perhaps because she’s pregnant, perhaps from the emotional tumult, then Lydia does too, sparking a curious swooning epidemic as wobbly kneed girls drop like pins.

Though never attaining the woozy atmospheric heights of Peter Weir’s Picnic At Hanging Rock (a clear influence, along with Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures and Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides), The Falling does tremble with something mystical all its own.

Lensed by Claire Denis’ DoP Agnès Godard and gilded with a bewitching score by Tracey Thorn, it places the repression of young women, sexual and otherwise, front and centre – it’s no accident that Morley’s film sits like a bead of sweat on the lip of the ’70s, with the fight for gender equality about to explode.

But there’s more going on, too: talk of a ley line running under the school and a sense of Englishness present in the social mores and mannerisms, in the damp countryside and pregnant skies, in each adult denial and every moment of deadpan comedy. Ambiguity is The Falling’s currency, and it’s all the richer for it.

More info

Theatrical release24 April 2015
DirectorCarol Morley
Starring"Maisie Williams","Florence Pugh","Maxine Peake","Greta Scacchi"
More
Editor-at-Large, Total Film

Jamie Graham is the Editor-at-Large of Total Film magazine. You'll likely find them around these parts reviewing the biggest films on the planet and speaking to some of the biggest stars in the business – that's just what Jamie does. Jamie has also written for outlets like SFX and the Sunday Times Culture, and appeared on podcasts exploring the wondrous worlds of occult and horror. 

Latest in Action Movies
Gemma Chan in Eternals
Eternals star Gemma Chan is hopeful she'll return to the MCU someday: "There's unfinished business there"
All You Need is Kill anime
Graphic novel that inspired one of Tom Cruise's highest-rated actioners is being turned into an anime movie
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things 4
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins Spider-Man 4 and fans are already theorizing she might be X-Men’s Jean Grey
Doctor Doom in Marvel Comics
The Russo brothers say Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will draw inspiration from multiple comics – which explains how Doctor Doom might fit into the story
John Wick 4
John Wick 5 is still in the works, but Lionsgate isn't confirming Keanu Reeves' return just yet: "We're all on bated breath waiting to find out"
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
Latest in Reviews
Razer USB 4 Dock in silver on a wooden desk
Razer USB 4 Dock review: "solid, reliable, and surprisingly well-priced"
Lenovo Legion Go S with FlyKnight gameplay on screen featuring player character holding bow and arrow with enemy ant in backdrop.
Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 review: “my heart aches for this mixed up handheld”
Talisman 5th Edition game components
Talisman 5th Edition review: "The characterful imperfections of the original game remain clear to see "
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Three SteelSeries QcK Performance mouse pads on a wooden desk
I didn't expect to prefer a coarser mouse pad, but SteelSeries' new QcK Performance range has changed my mind