Here is the description of a scene from the movie Falling Down. Straight after, reflect by answering some of the questions.

PLOT
Los Angeles, summer 1992. In the terrible heat of the metropolis, Bill Foster is stuck in his car in the middle of a horrible traffic jam. His repressed violence rears up when suddenly, he gets out of the car, closes the door and decides to “walk” forty kilometres home. Those kilometres become an odyssey of violence. After calling his ex-wife, he has a disagreement with the owner of a shop and damages the shop. Bill does not stop: he beats who he comes across and kills whoever comes within range. His day coincides with that of a policeman, who follows the route of blood that Bill tracks through the city, and tries to stop him on his last day of service.


Description of the scene

Bill is in a fast-food restaurant and orders breakfast. Unfortunately, he’s too late and the staff explains that breakfasts are not served anymore at the time. Bill gets nervous and reminds the restaurant’s director that “the customer is always right”. Bills’ arrogance gets stronger and he continues, just like a spoiled child, to ask for breakfast. Suddenly his anger reaches the peak and he turns into an extremely dangerous person: he takes his gun out and, in front of the whole clientele, threatens the director and the waitress. He even pulls the trigger and fires three shots up to the ceiling. After having caused terror and obtained the longed-for breakfast, he changes his mind and orders lunch. 

Falling Down, J. Schumacher, USA, 1993, Warner Bros (00:41:07 - 00:45:50).

To reflect better on the importance of this example, try to answer the following questions.

  1. In your opinion, why did the protagonist change his behavior, suddenly becoming aggressive?
  2. Could the personnel’s reaction to Bill’s request for breakfast and the information provided by them have triggered this violent reaction?
  3. Can you identify a precise moment when instinct took over from rationality?