This U.K. cutting edge drama is making its East Coast premiere here at our film festival.  It is billed as filled with sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll following a gender bending dyke couple who work hard and play harder in the queer underground.  They had me at rock ‘n’ roll and, well, maybe the sex part too.

First time director, Kanchi Wichmann, starts us off slow with gender bending Liza (Kat Redstone) appearing to have a breakdown while going through DVDs of band performances of her current girlfriend, Sally (Sophie Anderson) and a mystery woman, that we later find out is Sally’s ex girlfriend, Tina, who was left for Liza.  The impetus of the meltdown is a mystery package addressed to Sally from Tina.  Liza obsessively watches the dvds until she throws the laptop off the roof of their flat.  This does not bode well for the future happenings of the couple.

While Sally is still using cocaine and staying out all night, Liza, as is hinted at, has given up the hard stuff and seems to be the stable force in their relationship.  As the film begins, there already seems to be a rift in their relationship before the package arrives.  The closeness that they once shared is not there and “friend” Vinny (a coke using gay hustler) seems to be helping the rift by providing Sally with the coke and also trying to actually be with her sexually, which does eventually happen, with a sad ending.  Jamie (a bartender at a local gay pub) rounds out the foursome.  His line in the movie about how there are “normal” people out there in the world and they (their group) “is a group of people that go to bed at night and get up in the morning” is the perfect description of the lifestyle that they are living, sans Liza, who is trying to maintain a “normal” lifestyle.

Liza can not keep up the facade of normal, while stewing about the unknown contents of the package and her jealousy, and ends up falling off the wagon and using cocaine and getting immediately back into the lifestyle.  It is then, that the movie takes an unexpected turn with Liza physically abusing Sally in grand fashion.  This changes the course of the movie and their relationship with no going back.  The dynamic has changed and Sally attempts to be the dutiful girlfriend by actually coming home and then trying to “please” her woman.  The sex scene between them is powerful, angry and heartbreaking.  Their relationship is now beyond repair, as Liza can no longer control the anger, jealousy and aggression she now feels towards Sally.

While they have moments of trying to go “back to normal”, it is over.  The movie comes to a head on Liza’s birthday with betrayal being the theme. 

“Break My Fall”, with its original soundtrack (one of the highlights of the film), was similar in theme to Alex Cox’s “Sid and Nancy”, in it is a story about obsessive love and addiction, set to music, but it falls short.  The leads played their parts well but I felt like I needed more with the development of their relationship and back story.  This film will be played again on Friday, July 15th at Ritz at the Bourse.