Falling Down

## Not about the guy This movie isn't about the main character, William 'D-Fens' Foster. He does some crazy things and I guess that what some people remember, but if you really watch the movie you see that it puts society's erosion of the U.S. "normal guy" on display. People who "do everything right": get a degree, marry, make babies, work for a corporation. They feel disillusioned, cheated out of the promise of the American dream. Class divides, racism, toxic masculinity, coroporate greed, urban decay, breakdown of interpersonal connections and flat, sloppy hamburgers that look nothing like the picture on the menu. They are all present in Joel Schumacher's chronicle of the late 80's and early 90's. Even the inaction of police under the strain of declining budgets. His ex-wife that dodged a bullet by getting out before D-Fens got violent, is almost ridiculed for being oversensitve, instead of rewarded for her insight and protective instincts. There are so many things we can see through D-Fens' interactions, but also his wife and the excellent portrail of Prendergast by Robert Duval. In essence, Falling Down is less about D-Fens as an individual and more about the society that shaped him and countless others like him, not coming to terms with the weight of systemic failures. It’s a film that leaves viewers with questions rather than answers. Even decades later people will recognise themselves in the characters, the neighbourhoods and the way they navigate life in the shadow of the American dream.