The movie opens with an extreme closeup of William Foster's face. As the camera pulls back, we see that he is in his car, and is stuck in traffic. Others around him are hoking their horns, but we hear nothing. It is clear from that opening moment that William is on the edge. And we are right there with him. The sound begins to come in as the camera takes us along the scene, a scene that is completely normal, completely mundane, but which has taken on a nightmarish vibe. It is a hot day. His air conditioning is not working. A fly is buzzing around him, crawling on his neck. He can't even manage to swat the fly, though he tries multiple times. Finally he opens the car door, takes a welcome breath of air, grabs his briefcase and gets out. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" the guy in the car behind him asks (played by the film's screenwriter, Ebbe Roe Smith). William Foster answers, "I'm going home." Is there anything more relatable than that, wanting to just get home? That's all he wants, putting this film sort of in the same ballpark as The Warriors. And he, in fact, is a sort of warrior himself, a warrior whose war has ended and who is no longer needed.
Meanwhile, Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall) is stuck in the same traffic jam, but has quite a different reaction, a different disposition, even smiling at the graffiti he spots on a billboard. As we soon learn, today is his last day as a police officer. And the world, much as it has for William Foster, is moving past Prendergast, leaving him behind. His boss (played by the wonderful Raymond J. Barry) knows basically nothing about him, about his life, nor cares to know. In some ways, the two main characters are leading parallel lives. The difference is in how each reacts to the changes in the world.
The first encounter William Foster has is with a Korean clerk at a convenience store. He goes into the store to get change for the pay phone (to anyone young reading this, it was not all that long ago that there were pay phones along the streets). When told he'd have to make a purchase, William decides to buy a can of soda. But the clerk overcharges him, telling him it will cost eight-five cents, not giving him enough change for the phone call, the entire point of the purchase. William's reaction is tinged with racism, calling the clerk out not just for the inflated price, but for not pronouncing "eighty-five" correctly. "There's a V in the word," William tells him. Still, we can't help but side with him as he reacts, grabbing the baseball bat from the clerk and smashing some of the displays of likewise overpriced items. And a little later when he hits a gang member with the bat, we can't help but cheer. And when he goes against a neo-Nazi, the exact sort of person who would later vote for Donald Trump, we feel a certain satisfaction, even joy. By the way, when the Korean clerk reports the incident to the police, he says he had the bat for defense. "De-fense," he stresses, reminding us of William's vanity license plate: "D-FENS." That license plate has a second meaning for us, more striking these days when we've been hearing about "draining the swamp," for "fens" means "marshes, swamps."
Our feelings toward William Foster change over the course of the story. We are at first rooting for him to make it home, but after a while his ex-wife tells him on the phone, "This isn't your home anymore." And that is a key line of the film. The world has changed, and nohing seems like his home anymore. And we can't help but wonder just what transpired to make his wife fear his arrival. At a certain point, we can no longer be on the character's side. "I'm the bad guy?" William asks, incredulous but thoughtful. And perhaps that line might make us take a look inward as well.
Special Features
The Blu-ray contains a commentary track that includes thoughts from director Joel Schmacher, editor Paul Hirsch, screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith, journalist Shawn Hubler, and cast members Michael Douglas, Michael Paul Chan, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Frederic Forrest. Joel talks about the opening scene, and how people relate to it, and Ebbe Roe Smith talks about how he once had an urge to walk away from his car in a traffic jam. Michael Douglas talks about why he took the part, and calls the role the "best part I've had since Wall Street." This track was recorded in 2009.
"Man On The Edge" is a new interview with screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith, in which he talks about the inspiration for the film and about the nature of Los Angeles itself. He also talks about the original feel for the movie, and how the golf scene came about. This interview is approximately nineteen minutes. "At War With The World" is a new interview with composer James Newton Howard, in which he talks about having a short time to compose the score. He talks about the hand percussion in a certain scene, and about the use of guitar and the use of trumpet at the end. There is also a conversation with Michael Douglas from 2009, in which he calls the film an unusual picture to be made by a studio. This is approximately ten minutes.
"Going Home" is a featurette on the locations used in the film, and how they've changed since the production. Here it is mentioned how MacArthur Park is one location that hasn't changed much. And if you've been there recently, you know the truth of that statement. It is a place that many of us in Los Angeles avoid. The special features also include two trailers and an extensive image gallery (163 production photos, some in color, some in black and white). And a booklet is included, with pieces written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Simon Ward.
This special Blu-ray release of Falling Down was released on July 21, 2026.
