Directed by: Nicolas Roeg.
Written by: Paul Mayersberg based on the novel by Walter Tevis.
Starring: David Bowie (Thomas Jerome Newton), Rip Torn (Nathan Bryce), Candy Clark (Mary-Lou), Buck Henry (Oliver Farnsworth), Bernie Casey (Peters), Jackson D. Kane (Professor Canutti), Rick Riccardo (Trevor), Tony Mascia (Arthur), Linda Hutton (Elaine), Hilary Holland (Jill), Adrienne Larussa (Helen), Lilybelle Crawford (Jewelery Store Owner), Richard Breeding (Receptionist), Albert Nelson (Waiter), Peter Prouse (Peters' Associate), Jim Lovell (Himself (Commander of Apollo 13).
When
I first watched Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth in my high school –
and then college – days, I found the film to be rather thrillingly ambiguous.
Here was a different kind of alien movie – one where the alien wasn’t here to
either help or destroy humanity – but rather for his own purposes, that the
movie only barely bothers to explain in its final act. It was also rather
daring that in the end, the alien ultimately fails – his weakness for the human
vices he develops is ultimately his undoing. I didn’t fully understand the
movie – I didn’t really understand it at all if I’m being honest – but I liked
it. It was visually amazing, and had an odd performance by David Bowie at its
core – and if there was ever a rock star born to play an alien, it was Bowie in
the 1970s. However, watching the film for the first time in about 10 years
again, I’m no longer sure I would describe the film as thrillingly ambiguous –
I may be more inclined to call it borderline incoherent. What once struck me as
daring choices that served to deepen the films mysteries, now strikes me as
some rather shoddy storytelling. I always knew I didn’t fully comprehend the
film – and now I think I know why – no one fully comprehends it, not even the
filmmakers. I do not demand that a film necessarily wrap up all its mysteries –
I don’t need someone to solve David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. or Shane Carruth’s
Upstream Color for me as examples. But the storytelling in both of those movies
is so confident that I feel at least Lynch and Carruth could fully explain them
if there were so inclined (they aren’t). I’m not sure you can say the same
thing with The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Thomas
Jerome Newton (Bowie) arrives in America with a British passport, and 9 basic
patents that will revolutionize earth’s technology, although what these are is
left pretty vague (some akin to digital photography is one of them though). All
he really wants to do with them is make money – a lot of money – and quickly.
He hires a lawyer, Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry) to be the head of his company
– to run the business end of things while he does, well, I’m not quite sure
actually. All he really seems to do is hang out with Mary-Lou (Candy Clark) –
who introduces him to earthbound sex, and the joys of alcohol and TV. Meanwhile,
a former college professor, Nathan Bryce (Rip Torn) – a notorious womanizer,
leaves his position in Academia and comes to work for Newton’s company (doing
what, again, I’m not sure). He begins to suspect that something is not quite
right about Newton – and will eventually “catch” him as an alien. This leads to
Newton revealing himself to Mary Lou – which does not go well, and leads to his
eventual imprisonment. Throughout the movie, we are treated to flashbacks to
Newton’s home planet – a dry, desolate desert, and shots of his family – a wife
and two kids. He’s on earth to try and save his planet – and his family – and
he gets close to being able to return to them before he is captured, and
imprisoned inside a luxury hotel, where he undergoes medical tests and is plied
with alcohol.
I
don’t think The Man Who Fell to Earth makes a whole lot of sense if I’m being
honest with you. It seems like director Nicolas Roeg and screenwriter Paul
Mayersberg skipped over some fairly important scenes and explanatory passages
because they didn’t much interest them. What they were interested in was
creating strange imagery and an overall surreal tone in the film – and in that
they undoubtedly succeed. Bowie is great as Newton, because he really does seem
to be otherworldly, even before he “reveals” his true self. It’s more of his
mere presence than his performance that makes it work. Candy Clark is quite
good as Mary-Lou – a lonely, somewhat pathetic woman who grasps onto Newton
tightly, but never quite realizes something is wrong with him.
In
terms of plot, The Man Who Fell to Earth asks the audience to connect the dots
– but I don’t think it gives you all the dots to connect. Look at the plot
description on Wikipedia (which I looked at to ensure that what I thought
happened did in fact happen) and you’ll find lines like “However, just before
his scheduled take-off, he is seized and detained, apparently by the government and a rival company; his business
partner, Farnsworth, is murdered. The government, which has apparently been told by Bryce that
Newton is an alien, holds him captive in a locked luxury apartment, constructed
deep within a hotel.” (Emphasis, mine). That’s two “apparentlys” in the span of
three lines – and no one has bothered to correct it on Wikipedia, probably
because they cannot really argue with it – the movie never does really explain
who imprisons Newton, why or how they knew about him in the first place. When
later, he finds that his prison has become rundown, and is now unlocked, and
he’s free to walk away, that’s never explained either. In the final scenes,
where Newton is now free and apparently still
rich, we never find out how he was able to keep his money. Perhaps these are
the kind of dull, boring explanatory scenes that often drag down a movie – but
without them (and this is just a few examples) – I couldn’t help but think that
the movie doesn’t really make any sense. It’s not ambiguous as much as it’s
vague and undefined – which are two different things.
When
I saw The Man Who Fell to Earth years ago, I loved it. It seemed daring and
different, and I didn’t much care that it didn’t make sense. It’s still daring
and different – but I care a little bit more that it never really comes
together and that it doesn’t make any sense. I still think it’s a good movie –
if for no other reason than because I think we can all agree that a film like
this could never be made today – at least not in any mainstream way. If it were
made today, it would be by someone like Shane Carruth, working outside the
system, where the demands aren’t as rigorous, and people are more willing to
take risks. Make no mistake, The Man Who Fell to Earth is a risky film. It’s an
interesting film in how it depicts American culture, collapsing under the
weight of all its vices, and a pessimistic view of humanity. I admire the film
as much now as I did when I first saw it. I just don’t like it as much.
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