The story focuses on Aurora, a Portuguese worker in a Scottish warehouse, navigating loneliness and alienation in an algorithm-driven gig economy as she seeks meaning and connection amidst solitude and workplace confines.

‘On Falling’ is a Scottish set movie about a Portuguese immigrant worker who has moved to Scotland to work as a picker at a factory for an unknown large company (no prizes for guessing who they’re based on). Alternating between the time spent at her mundane job, and her lonely existence in a shared flat, it’s a movie about the difficulties of trying to make a living in our modern consumerist society, and how often a crushingly boring job with a low income can trap many people in a cycle that’s extremely difficult to get out from.

Starring the very good Joana Santos in the central role of Aurora, ‘On Falling’ follows her as she finds it difficult to connect with her colleagues and flatmates, with her limited support network soon to diminish further as her Portuguese friend who she car shares with securing an office job back home. The movie is particularly good at depicting the soul crushing banality of her job, with inane and dehumanising HR policies, and an environment where everyone, including the managers, are trapped in their own little power (or lack of) vacuums. Anyone who has ever worked in a dead-end job will recognise the frustration of working long, unsociable hours for little pay, yet being expected to be happy at company ‘success’ of which you get little genuine benefit from. That this is mirrored by Aurora’s life outside of work just shows the trap that she has found herself in.

‘On Falling’ is at its strongest when it leans into this and there’s a bit of Ken Loach’s stronger work in how it depicts this environment in a natural, cinema verité style that feels true to life, with well-cast supporting performers and smartly selected filming locations. Where it’s less assured is in where to take the story beyond the initial premise and I did feel that this is potentially a very good short movie that’s been stretched out to a full feature where it quickly runs out of steam and things to say, resorting to repeating the same points its already made. As a debut feature, ‘On Falling’ is an impressive piece of work that marks director Laura Carreira out as a talent to keep an eye on, and it is certainly worth checking out.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Laura Carreira

Starring: Joana Santos, Inês Vaz and Piotr Sikora

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt30766504/