While I consider myself a fan of director Nicolas Roeg - his WALKABOUT and DON'T LOOK NOW are two of my favourite films - and a fan of David Bowie's music, I didn't think much of THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH at all. I don't mind arty films to a degree, but when a film becomes too abstract I tend to lose interest. This sci-fi oddity comes across as more of a collection of beautifully-shot vignettes rather than a real movie, and it suffers as a result.
I think this film is trying too hard to be cult and in doing so it ends up alienating the mainstream audience instead. Certainly Bowie is effective as the alien visiting Earth, and you find it hard to think of anyone else who'd be as believable in the part, but what happens? There are endless, tastefully-shot sex scenes with Rip Torn and the like, some bad guys sitting around in their offices, and lots of surreal stuff. It's hardly THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. The cinematography is excellent as you'd expect, but I found this to be an incredibly hollow experience overall.
I think this film is trying too hard to be cult and in doing so it ends up alienating the mainstream audience instead. Certainly Bowie is effective as the alien visiting Earth, and you find it hard to think of anyone else who'd be as believable in the part, but what happens? There are endless, tastefully-shot sex scenes with Rip Torn and the like, some bad guys sitting around in their offices, and lots of surreal stuff. It's hardly THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. The cinematography is excellent as you'd expect, but I found this to be an incredibly hollow experience overall.