German actress Aylin Tezel’s directorial debut is a tender exploration of growing into yourself in your 30s, but its billing as a romance leads to some disappointment as the narrative runs on.
★★★☆☆
Indie romantic cinema has always had a gift for the melancholic. Portraying the mess of flawed humans and our attempts at connection is always more fascinating when done in stories of love and intimacy. Aylin Tezel’s Falling Into Place leans into this melancholic, meditative mood to tell a story about two people trying to find themselves rather than each other.
Falling Into Place follows Kira (Aylin Tezel) and Ian (Chris Fulton), two thirty-somethings who are self-labelled as ‘on the run’. Kira runs from the heartbreak of her long-term relationship ending, while Ian runs from a complicated family life, in which his elderly parents are struggling and his sister’s suicidal tendencies have put them all constantly on edge. The pair meet on a night out on the Isle of Skye, Ian’s home, and find themselves wandering the island together, laughing, dancing, and connecting in a way that feels profound to both of them. They don’t share as much as a kiss, but there is a sexual tension and undeniable chemistry that resonates between the pair . However, when Ian’s sister ends up in hospital, the fairytale ends early and the pair go their separate ways, not realising that both of them are living in the same city: London.
The rest of the film follows their individual journeys, completely separate from each other, save for the glimpses of that night which both haunt and move them both. It is only in the film’s last twenty minutes that we get to see the pair in the same vicinity again, and answer the question of ‘what if?’ that has plagued the rest of the film. In many ways, it’s as if Tezel has penned the time between Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.
Due to the characters spending the majority of the runtime in different vicinities, it feels somewhat misguided to label the film as a romance. And yet, at the same time, while it isn’t romantic in the conventional sense, there is something deeply romantic about the concept that one night with the right person can genuinely change your life. The editing flashes back to moments from that encounter throughout the runtime, often in beautiful contrast to Kira and Ian’s current lives. The cinematography is tender and dreamlike, and has an incredible way of compounding the feeling of loneliness and sadness: something Falling Into Place lingers on for much of its runtime. Particularly interesting is the way in which the vast landscapes and open roads of Skye are still never made to feel as isolating as the bustling streets of London.
Tezel and Fulton play their parts beautifully, both tapping into something incredibly vulnerable and authentically human. However, the script sometimes struggles with fully inviting us to empathise with them, especially Ian, who cheats on his girlfriend and lashes out unnecessarily. While the film gives Kira and Ian time apart from each other to have space to grow, there isn’t always enough time given to have their growth feel entirely organic, with time jumps jarring and often not clearly marked. As such, it’s harder to root for these characters to get together when we aren’t consistently given reasons to love them apart.
Once they are reunited in the latter part of the film, Falling Into Place is utterly warm and charming, and while the separation is of course integral to the plot it does feel like time wasted to have not had this chemistry gracing our screen for the full runtime. The pair are able to capture each other, and the audience, with just a gaze; it’s a testament to the strength of Fulton and Tezel’s performances. However, it leaves you wanting so much more of them than the film gives you.
The Verdict
Tezel’s debut has moments of sincerity and vulnerability that make it incredibly tender, aided by its soft and dreamy mise-en-scene. However, its tendency to get caught up in the characters’ sadness without integrating with the hopeful spark of the romance leaves it feeling somewhat disjointed
Words by Rehana Nurmahi
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