"Life goes on, even when we don't..."
George Wright
Fallen is a 2021 Irish Short Film, written and directed by Bobby Calloway.
It's World War I and we follow two British soldiers - George (Adam Douglas) and Alex (also Bobby Calloway) - trying to find their way home after a battle. George keeps having visions of a strange woman called Eden (Michele McNally) and, after reading about an incident of fairies being photographed in Yorkshire, seems to develop his own beliefs.
Not to be confused with the 1998 film starring Denzel Washington, nor the debut album from Evanescence.
Tropes:
- All There in the Script: George's last name 'Wright' isn't spoken aloud in the film.
- Angel Unaware: Alex is in fact George's guardian angel who's forgotten who he is.
- Angelic Beauty: Eden is framed and lit to give her beauty a divine aesthetic. George is somewhat in awe of her beauty.
- Artistic License – History: While the Cottingley Fairies incident did happen during World War I, the details weren't published in The Strand magazine until 1920. Notably, the magazine George is reading doesn't show the page's contents.
- Big Brother Instinct: Alex very clearly has a lot of incentive to protect George and look out for him. This then gets inverted when Alex admits he needs George more than the latter needs him.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: George (blond), Eden (brunette) and Alex as light brown substituting redhead.
- Boring Return Journey: The movie is the return journey. A battle happened offscreen before the film starts, and the plot is them trying to return home.
- But Now I Must Go: Alex has to leave George at the end, having technically fulfilled his objective.
- Color Wash: The film starts out looking quite bleak and stark, with colours becoming more vibrant as the story goes on.
- Contemplate Our Navels: While resting by the river, Alex becomes lost in thought, and suggests just staying there forever.
- Costume Porn: Eden has a truly spectacular costume, complete with a sparkly trimming, elaborate corset and Simple, yet Opulent cape.
- Disappeared Dad: George says his father died in the Boer War. If he's the same age as his actor (Adam Douglas was 20), George was probably no older than three when he died.
- During the War: The exact date is left vague, but the uniforms indicate a World War I setting.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave: Alex at one point says "all the boys that grew up with us" have all died.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Upon remembering his true identity, Alex's hair becomes lighter.
- Flowers of Femininity: Eden is associated with flowers - holding a buttercup in her first scene - and is clearly a very feminine creature. She is holding another flower when she appears later.
- Foreshadowing: George has to get his hair cropped because of lice, while Alex suspiciously doesn't. Alex also seems to produce a copy of The Strand magazine out of Hammerspace.
- Great Offscreen War: George and Alex are introduced having just gotten separated from their unit after a battle. The entire run time is them wandering around the country, trying to get home.
- Guardian Angel: Discussed. George jokes that Alex is pretty much his, having spent most of their lives looking out for him. He's more correct than you'd think.
- Hair-Contrast Duo: Idealistic and hopeful George is blond, cynical and bossy Alex is brunet.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: George is a blond and appears to be The Pollyanna.
- Hourglass Plot: The story begins with Alex as The Mentor to a Broken Bird George. As it goes on, Alex falls close to the Despair Event Horizon, while George matures.
- Identity Amnesia: Alex has forgotten that he's actually George's guardian angel, possibly due to the trauma of the war.
- Innocence Lost: Subverted. George seems like he's lost his innocence at the start, but regains some of his idealism.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: George is an idealist at heart, and this is enhanced by his blue eyes. The first glimpse of him is an extreme closeup of his eyes.
- Intimate Haircut: Platonic example. The film opens with Alex giving George a short haircut to keep the lice away.
- Irony: Alex doubts the existence of the supernatural, while George has a more open mind. Turns out Alex is the Fallen Angel.
- Like Father, Like Son: George mentions that both his father and grandfather died in separate wars.
- Low Fantasy: An otherwise grounded World War I setting, where fairies and angels exist.
- Magic Realism: The tone is quite grounded, suggesting the existence of supernatural creatures rather matter-of-factly.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Things are shot in such a way that George could have been imagining Alex and Eden all along.
- Military Salute: Alex salutes George right before he heads off with Eden.
- Mysterious Waif: Eden appears in visions and dream sequences, to set up The Reveal.
- "No More Holding Back" Speech: George gives Alex a passionate speech about how he has to believe in other things, because the reality that they're alone is just too depressing.
- Ocean Awe: Well it's a river, but George gushes about the beauty of the landscape once they're by the water.
- Our Fairies Are Different: Merged with Our Angels Are Different, as Eden is compared to a fairy and it's implied that the Cottingley Fairies were real (but not their photographs). Both her and Alex are completely humanoid but can disappear at will.
- Platonic Life-Partners: George and Alex are implied to have grown up together, and been through a lot.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Or real men believe in angels and fairies rather.
- Quirky Curls: Eden's hair is curly, and helps sell her as otherworldly.
- Scenery Porn: There are several extremely striking shots of the area the boys travel through.
- Shirtless Scene: George is shirtless in his introduction. In this case, it's Fan Disservice, showing that he's covered in dirt and blood from the battle they were just in.
- Shout-Out: Two characters on a mission stop by a riverside, and one of them suggests staying there forever out of fatigue. The scene was directly inspired by one in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Although teetering on the cynical edge, the story ultimately favours the idealistic point of view; George's idealism is shown as a positive trait, and Alex learns more from him. Ironically, a conversation between them has Alex taking an idealistic viewpoint and George a cynical one, but presenting it in an idealistic way. Alex seems to have his Innocence Lost by World War I, not believing the world could experience such a thing. George meanwhile has experienced family deaths in previous wars, and reminds Alex that this has been happening throughout history, and that life always goes on.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Eden appears out of nowhere by the river, and also disappears just as easily.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Halfway through the film, Alex fears they'll never be able to get home, and that it won't even be the same if they do.
