On Falling (2024) Movie Review: A Realistic Portrait of an Immigrant’s Struggles and Isolation 

“The complexity of a human character is directly proportional to financial struggle and social behaviour.”

Laura Carreira’s debut feature, “On Falling” (2024), is a deeply moving and intimate portrayal of loneliness, resilience, and survival. Much like Ken Loach’s masterful social realist movies, Laura Carreira crafts an experience that is both heavy and delicate, drawing us into the life of Aurora, a Portuguese immigrant trying to find her footing in Scotland.

Aurora works as a warehouse picker, spending her days in mundane, physically demanding labour. She moves through life in a repetitive cycle—going to work, doing her job well, and returning home with her fellow Portuguese colleague. Her hard work earns her a simple reward: a bar of chocolate. Yet, when she needs a day off to attend a job interview, they refuse the request. Beneath this quiet routine, we sense an unspoken tension—Aurora is introduced to us with a reminder that there is a knife poised to fall at her, but only in the end for us to understand Aurora herself is the knife.

She shares a flat with other immigrants—some speaking Ukrainian, Hungarian and Polish—she is an outsider even within her own home. She is kind, hardworking, and painfully shy, unable to say no to anyone. Unlike her peers, she doesn’t go on dates or socialise at clubs. She struggles to find a job that pays better but is trapped in a cycle of insecurity and self-doubt.

News of a fellow warehouse worker’s death—a man most barely remember—becomes just another topic of conversation during the lunch break. Aurora, however, recalls his kindness toward her just the other day. He seemed like a good man. Now, learning that he took his own life, she is shaken. It’s a stark reminder of how loneliness and life’s struggles can push someone to the edge. But Aurora isn’t there—not yet.

The Weight of Everyday Embarrassment

One day, Aurora forgets to pay the electricity bill—it was her turn. She is in the middle of a shower when the power cuts off. Assuming it was a mistake, she waits in silence, only to overhear her flatmates’ conversation revealing that she had failed to pay. Humiliated—she retreats to her room secretly, still covered in shampoo. Avoiding their concern and knocking at her door, she hides herself. The sheer weight of this embarrassment is suffocating, not just to Aurora but it is transported to the audience, thanks to the brilliant performance and the direction.

Her new Polish flatmate helps her cover the bill. Aurora wants to repay him, but she has no money. In a quiet act of desperation, she stops buying lunch at work, instead stealing a pack of chips meant for her flatmates and eating at work. Others at work assume that she is health-conscious, skipping meals to stay fit, but only Aurora and us, the audience, know the truth.

When the Polish flatmate invites her for a drink with his friends, Aurora accepts—perhaps seeking a brief moment of belonging. After a drink, she rests her head on his shoulder, craving warmth and connection. But he shifts uncomfortably, uninterested. His subtle rejection deepens her awkwardness, making the moment unbearably raw. Aurora aches for companionship, but at every turn, she remains on the outside looking in.

Loneliness in the Details

Carreira captures Aurora’s solitude not through grand gestures but through the smallest, most intimate details. In one scene, without any reason, Aurora comes out of her room, gets a glass and drinks water from the tap—even though she is not thirsty, just wanted to have a conversation with one of her female flatmates. She goes back in, she makes the same gesture when she hears someone else is in the kitchen. This time it’s the new Polish flatmate. She makes it look like she had come out for the first time, and casually making the conversation with him—confirming she will repay soon. This subtlety in details shows the loneliness and awkwardness of Aurora.

Aurora accidentally breaks her phone. She gets squeezed uncomfortably by a group of drunk women at a restaurant, their loud laughter surrounding her as she struggles to find space. During a job interview, when asked about her hobbies, she suddenly breaks down—unable to find an answer.  In another moment, she applies a bold blue eyeshadow—which is offered as a free trial at a store, one she doesn’t need but accepts simply because she never says no. However, the experienced worker learns Aurora’s upcoming interview, gently convinces her to choose a more neutral shade. Before this, in a small act of self-celebration, she buys herself a chocolate bar. She just wants to be happy, to enjoy the little moments. But she doesn’t quite know when—or how—to share them with others.

Though her quiet demeanour earns respect from colleagues and strangers at cafes or parks, it never quite translates into friendship. When she finally lands an interview for a social care job, she allows herself a flicker of happiness, sharing the news with her Portuguese colleague. But soon after, when she learns that her colleague has secured a comfortable desk job back in Portugal—before she herself has even escaped the warehouse—Aurora withdraws once again, defeated.

An Unflinching, Immersive Experience

Carreira’s use of long takes and handheld cinematography places us directly in Aurora’s world, making us feel her emotions, her shame, and her quiet suffering. The film doesn’t ask for sympathy; it merely invites us to observe, to witness her struggle without intrusion. Joana Santos, who plays as Aurora, brought so much life to the character. She radiates as a performer throughout the film, embodying the essence of a kind yet awkward, introverted, melancholic, and lonely immigrant character. “On Falling” is not just a film—it’s an experience, an intimate window into the fragile existence of an immigrant struggling to belong. By the end, we don’t just understand Aurora’s loneliness—we feel it.

Read More: Where The Night Stands Still (Come la notte, 2025) ‘Berlinale’ Movie Review: A Spare Reflection on Displaced Belonging

On Falling (2024) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, Letterboxd
The Cast of On Falling (2024) Movie: Joana Santos, Inês Vaz, Piotr Sikora
On Falling (2024) Runtime: 1h 44m, Genre: Drama

Where to watch On Falling