The Man Who Fell to Earth - Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film

Country: united_kingdom

Year: 1976

Running time: 139

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074851/reference

Michael says: “On my journey to fill in gaps of my film-viewing history as triggered by mentions in the Brattle Film Podcast, I finally saw Nicolas Roeg’s THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, famously starring David Bowie in one of his few leading roles on the big screen. It was only Nicolas Roeg’s second directorial effort, and given that, pretty darn impressive. I’ve only seen one of his other film’s surprisingly, the pseudo-children’s film, THE WITCHES, and I don’t really draw the comparisons between the two. Released in 1976, and adapted from a more straight-forward science fiction novel by Walter Tevis, the film tells a decades-long story about an alien who comes to earth disguised as a human, to develop the means of saving his dying planet, most notably his own family, consisting of a wife and two children. The titular character is called Thomas Jerome Newton, an eccentric inventor, who uses is alien knowledge to create wonders of technology heretofore undiscovered on Earth, in order to raise billions of dollars to transport much needed water back to his planet. Along the way he works closely with Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry) a fellow scientist who he places in charge of his company, and Nathan Bryce (Rip Torn), also a scientist, but more of the cowboy type, who Newton puts in charge of helping him to create the machine that will transport him back to his planet… unbeknownst at this point to either Bryce or Farnsworth. Along the way, Newton also get involved with the not-so-bright, but every-so-helpful hotel housekeeper Mary-Lou (Candy Clark) who introduces Newton to human sex and alcohol, a combination the proves to be the stories central driving forces, and ultimately Newton’s downfall. Ultimately, the film is about the suspicion and distrust of humanity, who when faced with something unknown and mysterious, tries to control, and ultimately destroy it.

“David Bowie couldn’t have been more perfectly cast as Newton. His pale androgyny and waifish form speak of alienness and helplessness, but his intellectual demeanor paints him as a believable inventor from the stars. Rip Town and Buck Henry are terrific dichotomous foils for Bowie, on the polar extremes of the male archetype — Torn, the rugged cowboy, and Henry, the secret homosexual. Candy Clark has the tough job of making Mary-Lou sympathetic in her desire only to be loved, and yet faced with the truth about Newton, her terror at his otherness, that she resolves after it’s all too late.

“The story is quite tragic, not only for Newton, but for those who are his allies, who end up betraying him, or being betrayed by their association with him and all end up worse for wear because for it. Roeg spends a lot of time on sex in this film, and you’ve got to wonder if that was the case in the book. The sex is unusual, and surprising for its amount of full nudity of all the players involved. That, and the editing, as well as the use of practical effects give the film a decidedly 70’s feel. While it goes on about 15 minutes too long, I ended up appreciating it quite a bit. I do wonder if it might have been more successful with me with another director, and despite my usual reticence to see remakes of older films, I suspect a more modern telling could do something interesting with it. I’ll tell you who could update it, but keep the spirit of the original… Claire Denis. For the original, I will offer 3.5 cats“

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Leave a Reply Cancel reply