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Falling down is the story of William Foster, a man who detaches himself from society and wanders through the urban jungle of Los Angeles trying to get to his ex-wife and daughter. Michael Douglas is spectacular in this role. It reminded me of the change that Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) went through after going to the hypnotherapist in Office Space, although William Foster's detachment is much more extreme.

My favorite part of this film is how it messes with the mind of the viewer. I found myself relating to William Foster at some points as he goes on a vendetta against social decay, but at other times it became clearer that society wasn't at fault for all of his problems, and I wondered how I could have ever sympathized with him and his "cause." It really does make viewers question their own morals and how far they would go if put in Foster's situation, which included being fired from his job, divorcing his wife, losing his daughter, having a restraining order keeping him from getting anywhere near both of them, having every bum on the street trying to get something for nothing from him, seeing social corruption interfere with innocent people just trying to live their lives, and realizing how the rich seem to be completely detached from all the social ills that plague everyone else.

Prendergast (Robert Duvall) has some problems of his own to deal with on his last day of work as an L.A. cop. More social ills are exposed within the police force, as Prendergast seems to be the only guy taking his job seriously. He is the only one that can connect all of Foster's crimes and put together the puzzle. Now all he has to do is track him down before he does any more damage.

Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall give two of their best performances in Falling Down. I don't have to tell you that with those two the above statement actually means something. I can't think of anything that I don't like about this movie. I guess it's not very re-watchable, but only because it's so powerful. I know a lot of people haven't seen or even heard of this movie, and I can't really figure out why. It has an all-star cast, a popular director, and it's just a great movie.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10