Dr. Jake Rainer (Richard Dreyfus) is a therapist who left behind his practice of child psychology following the accidental drowning of one of his patients. Jake's friend Sheriff Mitch Rivers (J. T. Walsh) calls in a favor from Jake after a murder scene wherein husband and wife Fred and Sarah Warden are brutally murdered in their home with the only witness being the warden's young autistic son Tim (Ben Faulkner) and the Warden's teenage daughter Sylvie (Liv Tyler) who didn't get a good look at the killer. Jake reluctantly takes on the challenging of working with Tim seeking to unlock the truth of the murder.
Silent Fall is a 1994 psychological dramatic thriller that was one of a number of mid budgeted adult skewing thrillers that were produced during the decade (think Pacific Heights, Malice, etc.). The Akiva Goldsman scripted film written under the initial title of Indian Summer was purchased by Morgan Creek for $500,000 and was tailored as a vehicle for Richard Dreyfus. Released in October of 1994, the film was a box office disaster opening at 10th place behind several holdovers as well as the opening weekend of Stargate and was pulled from theaters after two weeks making only $3 million against its estimated $30 million budget. Critical reception tended to skew negative with many critics scathing in the film's usage of autism as well as the trashiness with which the film played its subject matter. All these year's later Silent Fall is well-made, but underneath the polish is something trashy, stupid, and bereft of good taste.
I'll say this for Silent Fall: it's directed with a keen eye by Driving Miss Daisy director Bruce Beresford so it has a sleek look when it comes to capturing the mood and atmosphere of its New England setting. I'll also say that with a cast that includes the likes of Richard Dreyfus, Linda Hamilton, John Lithgow, and Liv Tyler in her feature debut you're never bored while watching the film (even if your focus isn't anywhere near the filmmakers' target). The main problem with Silent Fall lies in its premise as it's a not particularly substantive or interesting thriller that is held together by the dated and at points rather ridiculous portrayal of autism with Ben Faulkner's take on Tim Warden basically a fun house mirror depiction of the worst aspects of the most extreme cases of autism with a scene featuring several autistic children more or less the same as Tim that feels very "gawking" in its handling of this material. But not content with trivializing autism in the same manner a carnival sideshow trivializes physical deformity, Silent Fall dives into lurid territory it's not properly prepared to deal with as we get a third act reveal that is tasteless on several levels and is used only for shock value.
Silent Fall is the prime example of "polishing a turd" as we have proven talents like Richard Dreyfus, J. T. Walsh, Linda Hamilton and John Lithgow (the latter two wasted in paper thin roles that could've easily been written out) and they're all in service of a script that is the worst aspects of 90s thriller filmmaking coupled with the worst aspects of 90s understanding of autism. I guess if you're in the mood for a bad taste trainwreck this'll fit the bill, but anyone else should keep a distance of five feet at minimum.
Silent Fall is a 1994 psychological dramatic thriller that was one of a number of mid budgeted adult skewing thrillers that were produced during the decade (think Pacific Heights, Malice, etc.). The Akiva Goldsman scripted film written under the initial title of Indian Summer was purchased by Morgan Creek for $500,000 and was tailored as a vehicle for Richard Dreyfus. Released in October of 1994, the film was a box office disaster opening at 10th place behind several holdovers as well as the opening weekend of Stargate and was pulled from theaters after two weeks making only $3 million against its estimated $30 million budget. Critical reception tended to skew negative with many critics scathing in the film's usage of autism as well as the trashiness with which the film played its subject matter. All these year's later Silent Fall is well-made, but underneath the polish is something trashy, stupid, and bereft of good taste.
I'll say this for Silent Fall: it's directed with a keen eye by Driving Miss Daisy director Bruce Beresford so it has a sleek look when it comes to capturing the mood and atmosphere of its New England setting. I'll also say that with a cast that includes the likes of Richard Dreyfus, Linda Hamilton, John Lithgow, and Liv Tyler in her feature debut you're never bored while watching the film (even if your focus isn't anywhere near the filmmakers' target). The main problem with Silent Fall lies in its premise as it's a not particularly substantive or interesting thriller that is held together by the dated and at points rather ridiculous portrayal of autism with Ben Faulkner's take on Tim Warden basically a fun house mirror depiction of the worst aspects of the most extreme cases of autism with a scene featuring several autistic children more or less the same as Tim that feels very "gawking" in its handling of this material. But not content with trivializing autism in the same manner a carnival sideshow trivializes physical deformity, Silent Fall dives into lurid territory it's not properly prepared to deal with as we get a third act reveal that is tasteless on several levels and is used only for shock value.
Silent Fall is the prime example of "polishing a turd" as we have proven talents like Richard Dreyfus, J. T. Walsh, Linda Hamilton and John Lithgow (the latter two wasted in paper thin roles that could've easily been written out) and they're all in service of a script that is the worst aspects of 90s thriller filmmaking coupled with the worst aspects of 90s understanding of autism. I guess if you're in the mood for a bad taste trainwreck this'll fit the bill, but anyone else should keep a distance of five feet at minimum.