“Wes Bentley’s straight-faced delivery imbues the performance with a sense of surrealism that offers something special with his Bill Scanlon character.”
by Nav Qateel
After Bill Scanlon (Wes Bentley) finds himself fired from his job as an insurance-claim assessor, thanks to being too lenient with his customers–not unlike The Incredibles‘ Mr Incredible in his similar relocated job–he turns to a life of crime to help make ends meet.
- After The Fall
- Directed by
Saar Klein - Cast
Wes Bentley, Vinessa Shaw, Haley Bennett - Release Date
12 December 2014 - Nav’s Grade: C+
The mild-mannered Bill finds that making money illegally to pay for his mortgage may seem relatively easy, but he’s not quite cut out for this line of work. Bill is also paying for the newly built swimming pool wife Susan (Vinessa Shaw) and his two boys are enjoying, and that he never really wanted. But “no” doesn’t appear to be in Bill’s vocabulary when it comes to his controlling family.
Fans of Breaking Bad will recognise the similarities to After The Fall, from the desert setting, to Bill Scanlon being almost recognisable as Walter White, a man pushed into breaking the law in order to keep himself financially afloat. Bill befriends Frank McTiernan (Jason Isaacs), a divorced cop who’s doing no better than Bill, and one of the more interesting characters in After The Fall.
*****
Saar Klein’s debut effort makes for an interesting character study of a man pushed into behaving in a way alien to himself, and Wes Bentley’s straight-faced delivery imbues the performance with a sense of surrealism that offers something special with his Bill Scanlon character.
After The Fall may not be for everyone, however, for those of you willing to take a chance on Saar Klein’s directorial debut, you’ll be greatly rewarded for your perseverance.
