The Lord of the Rings alum Viggo Mortensen, who currently stars in Green Book, is set to make his directorial debut with the drama Falling. The film, which Mortensen also wrote, is an intimate tale between a son and his aging father. Mortensen will star in one of the lead roles opposite Lance Henriksen (Aliens) and Sverrir Gudnason (The Girl in the Spider’s Web).
Falling follows John Petersen (Mortensen), who lives with his partner, Eric, and their adopted daughter, Monica, in Southern California. His father, Willis (Henriksen), is a farmer whose attitudes and behavior belong to a far more traditional era and family model. When Willis travels to Los Angeles for an indefinite stay with John’s family in order to search for a place to retire, these two very different worlds collide.
HanWay Films is set to handle the film’s international distribution while Falling will be produced by Mortensen, Scythia Films’ Daniel Bekerman (The Witch), with cinematographer Marcel Zyskind (The Two Faces of January) and production designer Carol Spier (Eastern Promises) attached to the film.
“The industry has always regarded Viggo as a really soulful artist. He is a talented photographer, poet, and musician,” said HanWay managing director Gabrielle Stewart. “His screenplay for Falling is a powerful, well-observed family drama. We are thrilled to be part of his promising and exciting directorial debut.”
