At the risk of making it sound more interesting than it is, “The Texture of Falling” is a lurid, Portland-set meta-drama about a timid filmmaker named Louisa (Julie Webb) who starts dating a dull married pianist, Luke (Patrick D. Green), while trying to make a movie based on her boring life, for which she resorts to stripping, dully, to raise funds. Meanwhile, also in Portland but possibly in a separate movie, an architect named Michael (Benjamin Farmer) begins a dom/sub relationship with Sylvia (Maria Allred, also the movie’s writer-director), an artist. How are these people connected? What’s real and what’s fantasy?
But again, we run the risk of giving the impression that “The Texture of Falling” is compelling, which it is not. It’s 74 minutes of mediocre actors giving meek, low-energy performances while reciting clumsily written, faux-philosophical dialogue. (On what they’re addicted to, Louisa says, “Mostly sensation. I’m not even sure what that means, really.” Luke’s answer: “I think primarily I’m addicted to fascination.” WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?) Allred has the basic technical skills to make a film, and there are workable ideas buried in here, but the writing and acting make it a muddled, insufferable wreck.
D (1 hr., 14 min.; )
