Finding Real Message in ‘Falling Down’

Re Kenneth Turan’s Feb. 26 review “Everyman Can’t Keep From ‘Falling Down’ ”: Turan criticized perceived messages that the movie does not purport to make and confused his own expectations for the film with the intent of the writer and director.

The principal theme of “Falling Down” is not to applaud vigilantism or address the larger issues of economic hardship and social injustice. The film is essentially a case study of a nervous breakdown that issues a harrowing warning about the peril of living in a society where each day the pressure and the volume is turned up a bit more, courtesy and manners are eroding and the cumulative effect of chaos and petty annoyances can cause severe personalities to snap.

Most people have a core of anger and hostility that, fortunately, is insulated by layers of civility, self-restraint and fear of reprisal. “D-Fens” (Michael Douglas’ character) is a disturbed man whose “core” is ultimately exposed by overwhelming feelings of fear, despair, obsolescence, helplessness--and one awful traffic jam. His subsequent outburst of brutality and frustration is behavior exhibited, albeit to a lesser degree, by a frightening number of people every day in this city.

But a stranger is not automatically an adversary. In a city where too many people are one bad day away from losing control, it’s a good idea to be a little more polite, patient and understanding, if only for your own protection. Common courtesy and respect are not old-fashioned window dressings. They are soothing music to calm the savage beast in all of us.

LAWRENCE GARRISON

Playa del Rey