''The Big Fall'' is a 1997 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

action-drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

film directed by and starring

C. Thomas Howell Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966) is an American actor. He has starred in the films '' Soul Man'', '' The Hitcher'', '' Grandview U.S.A.'', ''Red Dawn'', ''Secret Admirer'' and '' The Outsiders''. He has also appeared in '' Gett ...

. It was released direct to video on October 14, 1997, having previously aired on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

in April 1997.

Plot

Blaise Rybeck is a private investigator hired by Mrs. Brody to find out if her husband is cheating.

Cast

as Blaise Rybeck *

Sophie Ward Sophie Anna Ward (born 1964) is an English stage and screen actress, and a writer of non-fiction and fiction. As an actress, she played Elizabeth Hardy, the female lead in Barry Levinson's '' Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985), and in other feat ...

as Emma Roussell *

Jeff Kober Jeff Kober (born December 18, 1953) is an American actor, known for his television roles as Dodger in ''China Beach'', Jacob Hale Jr. in ''Sons of Anarchy'', and Joe in the fourth season of '' The Walking Dead''. He is also known his movie rol ...

as Johnny 'Axe' Roosevelt *

Sam Seder Samuel Lincoln Seder (born November 28, 1966) is an American actor, political commentator, and media host. His works include the film ''Who's the Caboose?'' (1997) as well as the television shows ''Beat Cops'' (2001) and ''Pilot Season (TV seri ...

as Gary Snider *

Justin Lazard Justin Lazard (born November 30, 1967) is an American retired actor, producer, director, and model. Early life Lazard was born in New York, but raised in Connecticut. His father, Sidney Lazard, is a former foreign correspondent, and his mother, ...

as Agent Bill Dickson *

Titus Welliver Titus B. Welliver (born March 12, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of the Man in Black in ''Lost'', Silas Adams in '' Deadwood'', Jimmy O’Phelan in ''Sons of Anarchy'', and the title role in the television seri ...

as Moe * Buzz Belmondo as Brody *

Darren Dalton Darren Jack Dalton (born February 9, 1965) is an American actor, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known for playing Randy the Soc in ''The Outsiders (film), The Outsiders'' (1983) and Daryl in ''Red Dawn'' (1984), Life and career D ...

as Larry *

Joanne Baron Joanne Baron (born February 3, 1953) is an American actress and Meisner technique acting coach. She was raised in Providence, Rhode Island and attended Classical and Pawtucket High Schools. She received early acceptance to the University of Conn ...

as Mrs. Brody * William Applegate Jr. as Agent Wilcox * Steve DeRelian as Echo *

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...

as Sally

Reception

In his review, Nathan Rabin of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' wrote "The script doesn't do Howell any favors, with its wide selection of stock characters and predictable twist." However, he remarked that "Howell's direction is surprisingly competent." He also labelled Howell's lead role in the film as "unintentionally hilarious", claiming "The eternally boyish and effeminate former teen star can't help but inspire chuckles as he spits out supposedly witty tough-guy banter and gritty narration in a silly

Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Ins ...

-esque mumble that needs to be heard to be believed."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Fall 1997 Film 1997 films 1997 action drama films American action drama films American neo-noir films Films directed by C. Thomas Howell 1997 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language action drama films