EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has landed U.S. rights to Falling, the directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen that had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. A theatrical, digital and on-demand release is set for February 5.
Mortensen penned the script, composed the score, produced and stars alongside Laura Linney and Lance Henriksen in the semi-autographical drama. Mortensen plays John, who lives with his partner and their daughter in California, far from the traditional rural life he left behind years ago. John’s father, Willis (Henriksen), a headstrong man from a bygone era, lives alone on the isolated farm where John grew up but is in the early stages of dementia. John brings him to stay at his California home so that he and his sister (Linney) might help him find a place near them to relocate to. Unfortunately, their best intentions ultimately run up against Willis’ adamant refusal to change his way of life. Terry Chen, Gabby Velis, Sverrir Gudnason and Hannah Gross also star.
Check out the new trailer here:
The U.S. release date makes the pic eligible for the 2021 awards season after it had selections at Cannes, Toronto and San Sebastian, then saw its overseas release hobbled by the pandemic (it has released in some territories including Mortensen’s native Denmark as well as the UK and Spain). Henriksen just won the Best Actor award at the International Film Festival and Awards Macao Competition; stateside, he will be put up in Supporting Actor categories for the role.
“Viggo Mortensen has fashioned a complex tale of love lost and regained that explores generational tensions,” Quiver co-presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman said Tuesday. “This is a stunning directorial debut from Viggo with a standout performance from Lance Henriksen, and we are excited to see this one through the awards season.”
Said Mortensen: “While not strictly autobiographical, some events and conversations in Falling are inspired by the childhood I shared with my two brothers, Charles and Walter, to whom the movie is dedicated. It is a complex story, layered throughout with the subjective, imperfect memories of its principal characters. Most people, it seems to me, yearn to be seen and heard, and thrive on empathy. It took me a long time to accept my own father as he was, with as little judgment as possible, but I’m glad that I eventually did so. And he returned the gesture, for which I’ll always be grateful. Falling is, in large part, about the importance of accepting and forgiving, of learning to live with others and with oneself. I feel very fortunate to be collaborating with Quiver in order to bring this story of hard-won grace and compassion to U.S. audiences.”
Quiver Distribution recently scored with the summer drive-in release of its Kevin James genre movie Becky, and teamed with Redbox Entertainment on a North American acquisition rights deal for Chick Fight, the action-comedy featuring Malin Akerman, Alec Baldwin, Bella Thorne and Kevin Connolly that bowed last month. It also recently acquired rights to the romantic drama Endless starring Alexandra Shipp and Nicholas Hamilton.