MovieChat Forums > Falling Down (1993) Discussion > Serious topic: What makes viewers think ...

Serious topic: What makes viewers think he is just an ordinary guy in the beginning?

posted 5 months ago by Patman111196 (1775)
14 replies | jump to latest

It seems that a lot of people who watched this were disappointed that D-Fens turned out to be a loon from the very beginning, and that he wasn't some dude who just had enough of society pushing him around. But considering all the questionable behaviors he does from the start of the film, why didn't anyone seem to notice that he was already a bit off?

In the first 10 minutes, he's verbally insulting the shopkeeper and literally vandalizing his store simply because he won't hand over the change he thinks he is ENTITLED to, and while the shopkeeper was a bit disrespectful, he has no legal or moral obligation to be a good samaritan.
Same deal with the Whammy Burger, D-Fens pulled out a gun for such a petty reason as wanting breakfast instead of lunch and held the staff and customers hostage until he got what he asked for.
This absolutely does not sound like a guy who has been pushed by the legitimately sick society for so long that he snaps. It sounds more like someone who firmly thinks that others are the problem, and not themselves. So, it kind of confuses me how a lot of people didn't pick up that he was already a crazy person from the beginning.

[–] [deleted] 5 months ago

[deleted]

[–] legnadibrom (6233) 4 months ago

M. Douglas looks so cool with his flat top hairstyle toting that uzi machine gun

[–] [deleted] 4 months ago

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[–] legnadibrom (6233) 4 months ago

i'll have to check out "Lonely are the Brave"

[–] [deleted] 4 months ago

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[–] BKB (9916) 5 months ago

You could tell with the fly flying around him along with the beads of sweat on his face, the humidity, the noise and complaining and just based on his facial expressions, he looked like he was going to snap at any moment. It wasn't hard to figure out without overanalyzing it

[–] ewd76 (1184) 4 months ago

I'd be a little miffed if I were in that situation too.

[–] liscarkat (18410) 4 months ago

"...someone who firmly thinks that others are the problem, and not themselves."

I'm not saying it's the case in this particular movie, but in real life sometimes others are the problem, and not ourselves.

[–] Patman111196 (1775) 4 months ago

That's true, but for all the people except for the people who actually put him in harm's way didn't really do anything truly wrong, even though they were a little disrespectful. It seemed to me he had a victim complex in order to avoid being held accountable, where he believes everyone takes advantage of him and is out to make him miserable. It seemed like even wanted to fight with the Korean storekeeper since he changed his mind about walking out. Not to mention he was taking his anger out on people who had nothing to do with his personal problems. He just seemed like someone who couldn't see the reality of his own actions and how they also caused harm to society.

[–] Aylmer (441) 4 months ago

I think the movie was playing with the audience to a degree. We are led at first to think of him as a typical "everyman" who just loses his mind from traffic and all the stupidities and inconsistencies in society having ground him down to the degree where he doesn't care anymore. Then later it becomes apparent that he never had a job and may have been just a psycho stalker from the start, which kind of undoes the theme of the movie and turns it into something else. By the end, Michael Douglas is relegated more toward being the villain with nowhere to go and nothing to do, and Robert Duvall, as the burnt-out cop with the mentally ill wife, becomes the protagonist. Not only do the characters in the film go on a journey through Los Angeles and the problems of society, but we as the audience go on one too from thinking we are in one kind of movie and slowly being transported into another altogether. I think it's an experiment which works in places but overall I've never quite connected with the film for this very reason.

[–] MaximRecoil (4617) 3 months ago

"Then later it becomes apparent that he never had a job"

Where did you get that idea? The female cop called his former employer ("Notec," a "defense plant") from his mother's house and confirmed he used to work there but was "fired over a month ago."

[–] aavfreak (3322) 3 months ago

Then later it becomes apparent that he never had a job and may have been just a psycho stalker from the start, which kind of undoes the theme of the movie and turns it into something else. By the end, Michael Douglas is relegated more toward being the villain with nowhere to go and nothing to do, and Robert Duvall, as the burnt-out cop with the mentally ill wife, becomes the protagonist.

Having rewatched recently, this is actually spot on.

However, this is one of those movies where people almost universally misremember it. I know I did.

Most people only recall it like your initial statement. Everyday man bears too much and eventually loses it. All he wants to do is get home to his kid to give her a gift, but the world is so unjust with circumstance conspiring against him.

That's not it at all. Watching from my 50yo perspective, he's an absolute train wreck of a human. Lives with his mom, can't keep a job, has no agency nor control over his own circumstances, doesn't know how to treat a woman, doesn't know how to be a good dad. This is a completely different experience at this time in my life vs when I first saw it at 20 years old.

[–] aavfreak (3322) 4 months ago

He does some of the things that many people may fantasize about, but aren't unstable enough to actually do. Walking away from your car and leaving in traffic in a "fuck it" moment. Encountering a not so helpful customer service and "teaching them a lesson" or pushing back against what they perceive as unreasonable prices.

And don't even get me started on the burger product not matching the picture on the menu board or in the advertisement.
That's long been a sore spot for consumers.

As you stated, he was a loon from the get go and acted in ways that were unreasonable, but that doesn't mean that viewers can't relate to the frustration he was reacting to.

[–] Melton (4486) 3 months ago

The trailer.