Viggo Mortensen’s Directorial Debut “Falling” Gets Emotional Trailer

Of the many actors in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, no actor has had a more interesting career than Viggo Mortensen. He's been nominated for three Oscars (even though the last two came for terrible movies), and worked mostly in Europe, picking only the projects that interest him. He's now made his directorial debut with Falling, which premiered at Sundance last year before finding itself as an official selection at multiple canceled film festivals.

Mortensen stars as John Peterson, who moves his aging father Willis (Lance Henriksen) from the farm they grew up on to his home in California. Their tumultuous relationship gets even more tense as Willis experiences dementia, which does nothing to soften his rage and bigoted views. Laura Linney co-stars as John's sister Sarah, with Terry Chen (The Expanse) as John's partner and newcomer Gabby Velis as their daughter.

Falling will open in limited release on Friday, February 5, hitting VOD and digital retailers the same day.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.