Review: In ‘Fallen,’ Girl Meets Angel Boy (Eternity Looms)

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Based on the first novel in the young adult fiction series by Lauren Kate, “Fallen” is the latest movie to capitalize on the spirit of teenage fantasy. Its heroine, Luce, is a self-possessed 17-year-old making her way through the jungle of a new school, navigating unfriendly cliques and obsessing over glowering boys even as a supernatural shadow threatens her safety and her sanity.

Fans of the popular “Twilight” series will recognize its influence on “Fallen,” which swaps the public school vampires of “Twilight” for boarding school angels. Despite being wooed by a smooth-talking immortal bad boy, Luce (Addison Timlin) is drawn to another admirer, an angel (Jeremy Irvine) who is destined to love her and her alone through all of eternity. Yet the very magic that secures his eternal love presents a threat to her mortal life. Teenage angst and biblical retribution ensue.

Like other fixtures of the Y.A. genre, “Fallen” is filmed with a professional sheen that sacrifices emotional sincerity for high production values. Directed by the veteran filmmaker Scott Hicks, of “Shine” and “No Reservations,” “Fallen” thrives when capturing the misty mood of Luce’s gothic school, Sword & Cross. But burdened with ideas of reincarnation and Christian mythos, the supposedly swooning love triangle among Luce and her beatific beaus lacks any of the organic interaction that could produce chemistry. Perhaps that’s why the standout performance in “Fallen” occurs on the sidelines of its romance. In a supporting role, Lola Kirke charms as Luce’s obsessive, motormouth friend Penn. Without multiple lifetimes of exposition weighing on her performance, Ms. Kirke is free to relax into playing a teenager.

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