Falling Into Place
Aylin Tezel's debut feature set in Scotland and London is a romantic drama of some depth.
Chris Fulton and Aylin Tezel
Image courtesy of Bulldog Film Distribution.
Falling Into Place represents a key moment in the career of the German actress Aylin Tezel. Born in 1983 and well known for her acting work in German films, she here takes on a leading role performing in English and does so in a work which she wrote herself and which marks her directorial debut. First shown in film festivals in 2023, her film won the FIPRESCI award for Best Film at the Tallinn Black Knights Film Festival and Tezel was named best actor for her role in it at Kinofest Lünen. Even if my own view is that the film is less than perfect, I do regard it as clear evidence that she has immense promise as a writer/director with a personal signature.
The first half hour or so of Falling Into Place takes place on the Isle of Skye after which it is set mainly in London. These two sections are very much contrasted because the Scottish scenes show the first meeting of Kira (that being Tezel’s role) and a Londoner named Ian played by Chris Fulton and here any other characters seen are decidedly sidelined. Kira who is in her early thirties is German but working in London as a set designer and has been to Skye before when she was still in a relationship with Aiden (Rory Fleck Byrne), one which has since fallen apart. In a pub she and Chris catch each other's eye and when, following a fair amount of drinking, they emerge they hang around together in a playful mood and take a night walk on the hills. Both are aware of their attraction but, even though they also spend time together the following day, Kira holds back from making this a sexual involvement. She does meet Ian’s parents whom he is visiting and who live locally but the duo is screen centre thus establishing their rapport and creating the sense that this is a romantic tale.
Nevertheless, the greater part of the film which follows finds them back in their own spheres in London and not in touch. We now discover that Ian is a composer/pianist who already has a partner, Emily (Alexandra Dowling) but Kira, while still running across Aidan from time to time, is focusing on her work. A stage director, Lewis (Samuel Anderson), engages her to design the set for his latest production and she also paints portraits which in due course will lead a gallery owner, Judy (Olwen Fouéré), to put on an exhibition of her work. However, brief flashback shots of Skye emphasise the extent to which Kira and Ian are continuing to think of each other even though their scenes in London are shown as two intercut but distinct threads.
In this way we become aware of how at this time both of them are experiencing interior emotional tensions. Despite her memories of Ian, Kira has still not come to terms with her feelings for Aidan no longer being reciprocated and, if she can indeed move on, it is not impossible that Lewis might become a potential suitor. Meanwhile, in Ian's case what we are learning concerns his anguish regarding his sister Annie (Anna Russell-Martin). They had been very close siblings and when he had left Scotland she had suffered a breakdown, one so serious that it had involved unsuccessful suicide bids. This aspect is handled with care and sensitivity but a few more details of their past history would have usefully added to our understanding of the situation. One finds too that the screenplay includes some less persuasive writing in the scenes featuring Ian and Emily.
Falling Into Place lasts for 113 minutes which is arguably longer than necessary. In theory the film runs the risk of seeming even longer than it is because the initial appeal relies so strongly on the bond between its two main characters and, while we hope that they will reunite, keeping them apart for so much of the film could easily seem anticlimactic. That is all the more strongly felt because Tezel and Fulton not only give very convincing performances but exude great chemistry together. Admittedly their playful manner early on is emphasised in a way which some will regard as off-putting rather than engagingly cute but, whatever one feels about that, it is their chemistry which undoubtedly wins out. Fortunately, the film’s structure is less of a problem than it might have been because the casting of the supporting players is very apt too (not least Fouéré and Anderson). As is also the case with Ian's parents, the various subsidiary characters including friends of Kira take on a convincing life of their own.
A few directorial touches are perhaps too stylised, but the use of the widescreen never disrupts the intimacy of the tale and Tezel herself doubtless shares the credit for favouring a music score which is all the more effective for featuring the piano and for being quiet and not too insistent. That is part of the film’s individuality as is its concern with mental health issues. But there is also a sense that both this latter element and the film’s awareness of troubled relationships are not really fully at one with the main thrust of the plot. At heart that ultimately places this film in the sphere of romantic tales designed to give audience satisfaction even as they seek to manipulate the emotions of the viewers. Consequently, artistically speaking there is a conflict between the more subtle elements found in Falling Into Place and the film’s bid for popular appeal. Nevertheless, there is much here to be enjoyed and Tezel’s brave venture in taking on the three duties of acting, writing and directing is quite successful enough for one to look forward to her future work in all three capacities.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Aylin Tezel, Chris Fulton, Alexandra Dowling, Samuel Anderson, Rory Fleck Byrne, Anna Russell-Martin, Samuel Anderson, Olwen Fouéré, Michael Carter, Kathryn Howden, Cian Barry, Juliet Cowan.
Dir Aylin Tezel, Pro John McKay, Yvonne Wellie, Milena Klemke, Jakob D. Weydemann and Jonas Weydemann, Screenplay Alyn Tezel, Ph Julian Krubasik, Pro Des Andy Drummond, Ed David J. Achilles, Music Jon Hopkins and Ben Lukas Boysen, Costumes Louise Allen.
Weydemann Brothers/Compact Pictures/Arte/WDR/SR/Screen Scotland-Bulldog Film Distribution.
113 mins. UK/Germany. 2023. UK Rel: 6 June 2025. Cert. 15.
