Viggo Mortensen Delves Into His Directorial Debut Falling with Co-Star Lance Henriksen [Exclusive]
Viggo Mortensen Delves Into His Directorial Debut Falling with Co-Star Lance Henriksen [Exclusive]
Viggo Mortensen makes his directorial debut with the new drama Falling while taking the lead opposite genre legend and Hollywood icon Lance Henriksen.
Falling marks the directorial debut of celebrated actor Viggo Mortensen, who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and is an accomplished musician in his own right. He teams up with genre icon and Hollywood legend Lance Henriksen to play a father-son duo that is somewhat based on Mortensen s own upbringing. Though don t call
Viggo Mortensenâs new film, which arrives in theaters and on streaming services on Friday, is a first for him.
In âFalling,â Mr. Mortensen, a 1976 graduate of Watertown High School and 1980 graduate of St. Lawrence University, Canton, makes his debut as a writer/director.
âFallingâ made its debut last winter at the Sudance Film Festival and was released in Europe last year. After its debut, John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it, âa masterful family drama taking a compassionate view of a father whose faults are impossible to ignore.â
âFallingâ explores the fractures and contrasts of a contemporary family and was released through Perceval Pictures, an independent film company founded by Mr. Mortensen. Part of it was shot in northern Ontario.
Viggo Mortensen makes his directorial debut with
Falling, the story of a gay man dealing with his estranged, conservative father who is suffering from dementia. Mortensen also stars in the pic, which features great character actor
Lance Henriksen as the antagonistic father.
Falling played at both Sundance and at TIFF last year, where it was met with mixed reviews. Now it’s headed to theaters and digital in February. Watch the trailer below.
Falling Trailer
Terry Chen), and their daughter, Mónica (
Gabby Velis), in California, far from the traditional rural life he left behind years ago, while his conservative father, Willis (Lance Henriksen), lives alone on the isolated farm where John grew up. In the early stages of dementia, Willis is brought to John’s California home to help him relocate. Unfortunately, their best intentions ultimately run up against Willis’s adamant refusal to change his way of life in the slightest.”
In a PEOPLE exclusive first look at the trailer for
Falling, Mortensen stars as John, who takes in his conservative father, Willis, after he s diagnosed with dementia. Their complex relationship takes a turn as Willis views on life clash with John s partner, Eric, and their adopted daughter, Mónica. Get push notifications with news, features and more. + Follow
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Mortensen, 62, tells PEOPLE the story is close to his heart after seeing his mother suffering from dementia for several years before her death in 2015. After her funeral, I wanted to remember everything I could about her, explore what I felt I d learned from her and, by extension, from my father, he says. Memory, I have come to believe, is more a collection of feelings than a collection of facts. What we recall is quite subjective most of the time.