Falling Down Details

Made from a script that was rejected by every major Hollywood studio, this is a storming portrait of inner-city life in America. That stateside critics were virtually unanimous in condemning it as a dangerous and irresponsible fantasy says more about the insecurities of the world's sole remaining superpower than it does about the merits of Joel Schumacher's bold, believable and darkly funny film. As the headlines never cease to remind us, the idea that an ordinary Joe can snap and go on a violent spree is depressingly feasible. Michael Douglas gives a superb performance as the man who cracks and he's matched by the excellent Robert Duvall as the ageing, world-weary cop tackling his last case before retirement. This is courageous, mature film-making that simply has to be seen.

A fascinating movie on urban life, with a protagonist who is both hero and villain. It can be seen as a vigilante film, an attempt to claim a position for White Anglo-Saxon Protestants as among the victims of modern society, or a satire on over-reaction t