Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

B N 'Before The Fall' manages to pack a handfl of genuinely beautiful scenes into its 1 hr 32 min running time. It also manages to fill the rest of the scenes with a lot of uninspired writing, clumsy directing, and some regretably bad acting.Before I continue, I would like to single out three of the lead actors as having been quite good.Chase Connor as the deeply troubled and brooding Darcy is very good. There is something about this character (in keeping with the original novel) that demands he be as handsome as he is conflicted, and Mr Conner does not disappoint. He is (as another reviewer has rightly noted) "breathtaking" to look at. While he does get in a fair bit of brooding, it is not the only note that he strikes. We see him smile (a couple times) with his new-found friend Bingley (played equally well by the devastatingly handsome Jason Mac), we see him pensive and in pain, seemingly on the verge of tears. We see him struggle and want to open up, grasping at hope. He makes us see it, this hope, like a distant glimmer that he spies but cannot reach. He is a man with many demons, and Conner captures it well.Ethan Sharrett contributes a well-balanced performance on the whole. There are some beautiful moments when he ceases to "act" and just inhabits the character of Bennett so completely that we are transported, we are there with him, in his pain and his embarassment and his regret. But at other times, perhaps due to the sodden script or the uneven directing, his acting seems to flounder, he loses both likeability and believability.This brings us to the script: it is in bad need of a re-write. I understand that Mr Geisling (who wrote the script and directed the film) was trying to break new ground with this effort, but I think it is clear that the script suffers from his narrow perspective.We are not supposed to despise any of the character's from Jane Austen's novel, so I am confused about why Mr Geisling would choose to make Bennett so thoroughly unlikeable through much of the film. Yes, he is supposed to be classist and snobby (Geisling switches the character's roles, making Darcy from the working class and Bennett from the upper class) and flawed and short-sighted. But we are always supposed to retain the idea that his superior attitude is not his true self, that he is mostly a victim of his upbringing. Once he is faced with seeing his ugly self in the proverbial mirror, he will not like what he sees and he'll quietly set about changing. Mr Bennett's evolution comes about too quickly for me right at the end of the film.Bennett's gay friends are downright insufferable with their catty obsession with men that they want to pursue.Cathy (Darcy's girlfriend) is a ... well, she's so many bad words that I cannot write them here. Suffice it to say that the first rhymes with "hunt" and the second with "ditch". How or why Darcy is with her is truly a mystery. Her bigotry and vitriol seem overdone. There is no nuance in her character, either in the script or in the actor's portrayal.Yes, such terrible people exist in the world, but such an unrelenting lack of sympathetic qualities sours a film.I recently watched the Irish film 'The Stag' (also titled 'The Bachelor Weekend') which featured the character known as The Machine. He is the slightly psychopathic and very inappropriate soon-to-be brother-in-law of the groom, and he has managed to wedge himself into a bachelor weekend (an ersatz stag experience) much to the chagrin of the groom, the best man, and their three mates. But as initially brash, uncouth, and yes, even slightly psycho as he is, he actually turns out to be a good listener and a staunch ally and teaches these men a few lessons about what it means to be a loyal friend.

ekeby In case you were wondering how the title related to Pride and Prejudice, "Before the fall" is from Proverbs in the Bible. That should have been obvious to me, but I had to look it up. I knew the proverb, and I knew Pride and Prejudice, but I didn't make the connection.That's because this reinterpretation has turned Jane Austen's characters upside down. D'Arcy and Bingley are poor, not rich, and (characters equivalent to) the Bennett sisters are concerned about marrying beneath their status rather than above.That's clever, and one of the few reinterpretations of Pride & Prejudice that's not a poor imitation, it's completely different. Pride & Prejudice is a social satire, and a comedy of manners. This film, on the other hand, isn't funny. There is a little comic relief, but it's feeble and the film would have been better without it.By no means is the dialog scintillating, and some plot devices are pretty weak (though probably no less contrived than Austen's). I personally was annoyed by the maudlin piano soundtrack in scenes where it was not only unnecessary, it was distracting. There are additional flaws that one could complain about, but overall I found myself able to overlook them. There is a lot to admire here, and it easily drew me in. I'd say give it a chance, especially if you are a fan of Jane Austen.

pakenmann It's easy to spill into colourful and cheap when portraying "gays" on screen. This film manages to achieve erotic tension and I think this is due to its wonderfully dignified treatment of both character and relationship. That, of course, apart from the great acting Sharrett is putting in.

sinnerofcinema Prior to signing up to watch this film I read the reviews about how this film is like a reverse "Pride and Prejudice". I don't particularly like comparing films because once you start doing that you begin to create expectations of how the film should be. Im pleased to report that this film stands tall on its own for is beautiful cinematography, music scenery and choice of actors. The actors, even though a bit stiff for my personal taste, are beautiful to look at and very engaged. I figured maybe the director wanted them to play it in their respective roles of an go getter attorney and a straight lace blue collar worker with his demons to resolve more conservative and reserved a choice I can respect as Im writing this review. I must go back to the beautiful cinematography because it is one of the main outstanding components in this film. The relationship between the characters at the end leaves you feeling hopeful. I do wish the final scene could have been extended a bit more to see where things would go from there. The direction is flawless. It pushes the story organically without making it feel forced. I wish there was a DVD for this film, for I would add it to my DVD collection. A great film in need of more exposure. It's a visual treat. I kept thinking Hallmark movie as I watched it. If you do find this film as you stroll the halls of amazon, do not hesitate to watch this film, its a MUST SEE.