★
When a woman is indicted for murdering her husband, her lawyer thinks there may be a conspiracy at play.
Classification: 15
Underwhelming, tedious and tacky, Tyler Perry's first collaboration with Netflix is a creative fall in its own right as this attempt of a character-driven thriller aims for the most procedural melodrama that leaves audiences drifting in and out of sleep. Following the efforts of public defender Jasmine who after assigned the case of Grace Waters to accept a plea deal begins to question the evidence against her and has Grace share her story. A Fall From Grace has all the nuance and style of low budget TV Movie of the week as Perry's direction is just fatigued like his pitiful performance as Jasmine's boss Rory Garruax, mostly sitting at a desk complaining through lifeless dialogue. There's no hook to the thriller element, no foreboding dread and everything about Perry's script feels ripped right out of a poorly written soap opera as this vision of a what a thriller should be is the most cynical cheap expression of art.
According to production notes, A Fall From Grace was shot over five days and it shows, there's nothing efficient or creative to the filmmaking Perry presents. It's tired flat shots, drawn-out overacted performances from Crystal Fox as Grace, Bresha Webb as Jasmine and Mehcad Brooks as Shannon just make it all the more awkward to watch. Backed up by embarrassing supporting performances that do little to create a credible lived-in world but rather just highlight all the shortcuts and clichés Perry uses to prop up his film. The story attempts commentary of ageism, identity theft and the insecurities that come with middle age as Grace coming off a divorce finds herself seduced by successful, youthful photographer Shannon. However, everything is executed through tiresome melodramatic performances and reveals, it's a film that wants to be played as straight thriller though just comes across campy but with no personality. A boring collection of nothing as it fails in its intended atmosphere but still has no charisma to even benefit from a different interpretation, no entertainment can be derived from watching the film. The reality of what's inspiring the script is lost completely and undercuts any potential commentary or grounding to make the stakes realistic or compelling. Almost half the runtime revolves around a flashback between Grace and Shannon's characters romance and when Jasmine interjects with a question you completely forget that this is a murder thriller and that Grace apparently killed him. The film never leans into its strengths or what could benefit it, the actors seem to be giving it their all to try and break through the monotony but there's no connection from the audience, you feel no tangible investment from Perry's vision.
Visually besides the flat wides which are just crammed with continuous long scenes of undercooked twists and laborious dialogue, the cheap factor of A Fall From Grace extends to the costumes and production design. The hair and makeup of Tyler Perry and Mehcad Brooks' are so offputting and unrealistic it removes any believability from their characters, even though Brooks is supposed to be an upsetting figure his appearance makes Shannon more of a joke than a threat. Every location is defined by drab greys and everything just feels desaturated even when the characters are outside. Yes, they are in Virginia but it's almost like Perry and cinematographer Terrence Laron Burke think that by making everything look dreary that it somehow enforces gravitas for the film. It doesn't, it just enhances the creatively bereft reality to A Fall From Grace which makes the revelations of the third act feel more desperate than earned. The film goes off the rails in a classic soap opera manner but for a film barely moving a mile an hour, the "thrills" of the final minutes hardly register as anything worthwhile concerning the script despite recontextualising every story beat we had just seen.
To the surprise of no one, Tyler Perry is no Alfred Hitchcock, Denis Villeneuve or Lynne Ramsey but despite Perry's success and resources at his disposal with A Fall From Grace being produced within his own production company and studio lot he does nothing with them to create a thriller unique to his own voice. It is a rehash of tired ideas that have always been synonymous with the bottom of the barrel crime knock off trash, with Perry's disinterest dragging it further down to the forgettable abyss. It's a fundamental misunderstanding of its genre and there isn't a genuine believable moment to any of the courtroom drama, romantic entanglements with every performance just feeling like a misguided caricature.
Director: #TylerPerry
Release Date: January 17th 2020
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images from the Internet Movie Database, Synopsis from Google
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