This movie has been described as an R-rated Princess Bride, but don't be misled. Although the structure of the Princess Bride is used, The Fall is in no way comparable to the aforementioned classic.

The Fall is a story of a suicidal patient in hospital telling a little girl (also a patient) an "epic" story to entertain her enough to manipulate her into stealing drugs for him that he can use to kill himself. Errors ensue, and the epic story grows and grows. Thus we see two stories: the epic as seen through the girl's imagination (wow! great story, great effects) and the story of the young man and the girl, a story teetering on the edges of comedy and tragedy.

Don't make the mistake I made, thinking that the majority of the movie would be the "epic" portion (as in The Princess Bride), because I didn't pay attention to the patients' story and failed to see how it was influencing the epic. This gem of a movie is both heroic and sad, and the actress who plays the little girl virtually steals the movie.

The film is set against the backdrop of the film industry in its infancy: A clever metaphor for comparing real life to reel life. You can keep your Indiana Jones and Narnia (I saw them both and they don't compare with the complexity of a real epic story as seen in The Fall). See it. It hasn't gotten wide release so seek it out at the Indie theaters. It's well worth a see.

AC (no master of the hyperbole, but I try).