Waking the Dead
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Movie Reviews of Waking the Dead
Movie Review: two beautiful performances
Summary: 5 Stars
Being a huge fan of Jennifer Connelly's work I pulled her IMDB list of movies and came across this one "Waking the Dead", being the only movie of Jennfier Connelly that I haven't seen, I felt much obliged to view this one and it was worth every moment of my time viewing...
Sarah Williams and Pierce Fielding fall upon chance during the last years of the Vietnam War (1972). Fiedling, a young ambitious man with dreams of becoming a senator finds his life entangled with his lover, Sarah. Sarah, a devoted activist who is dedicated to her missionary work loves Fielding so much that it is in fact "infuriating" and that feeling is mutual as well. Sarah and Fielding are deeply in love but their careers are so different and so demanding that it does seem implausible for this couple to succeed. Fielding and Sarah both know their careers are on total opposite sides of the field but manage to cope with patronizing politicians or sensitive activists; however, Fieldings life is drastically changed when Sarah dies in a car bomb in chile. Fielding, distraught over his loss, moves on; before you know it it is the year 1982; he enagages in a new relationship with his mentor's niece and is offered a seat in the senate after working with the Chicago DA. Things are all happening way too fast for Fielding as he must prepare for his close election. Things take a turn for fielding as he experiences auditory and visual hallucinations of Sarah and creates these dillusions. Why are these visions haunting him now after all these years? His family having a pertained liking to Fielding's fiance, Sarah, are concerned for him and worried about his ill being. Is love haunting or is it possible to literally wake the dead?
This movie is stunning, an outstanding performance by both Jennifer Connelly and Billy Crudup. It is a shame to see the little amount of recognition this film recieves now as well as at the box office in 2000. However, Their on screen chemistry is plausible with realistic dialogue along with a touching soundtrack. What makes this Romantic movie distinct and unique besides the beautiful Jennifer Connelly is the satisfaction of the ending; it does not leave the audience guessing or pondering upon the thought of is she alive is she dead...instead we rely upon the alleviation of Fielding's unrest and his new career ahead of him. He is content after all and his soul as well as Sarah soul can finally be at rest.
Movie Review: Odd and Poltical
Summary: 5 Stars
"Waking the Dead" is an odd and politically oriented love story that didn't really get to me until the final scene. It's not a bad movie, not boring or anything, but I didn't really buy the love element until the end. Billy Crudup
(Almost Famous, Jesus' Son) plays Fielding, an aspiring Senator who meets
Sarah (Oscar Winner Jennifer Connelly) who's one of those foreign activists simalar to Angelina Jolie. Despite their differences, Fielding and Sarah fall in love until Sarah dies in a car bombing accident...Apparently. The movie jumps between 1973 & 1974 to 1984, where Fielding is now running for Congress and is dating his mentor's niece. But, for some reason, Fielding (and a few other people) see Sarah occasionally; She has even called him.
But Fielding doesn't know if it's a figment of his imagination or if he actually woke the dead. I think that the problem with this movie is that it deals with the political aspect a little bit more than it needs too. I want to see the Fielding and Sarah love story more than I wanted to see Fielding's blossoming political career. But this is a pretty good movie and a lot of the scenes are effective. I like how the writer didn't cave at the end of the movie and come up with some ridiculous excuse for an ending and instead left us to wonder. Crudup & Connelly are both great in their roles, especially Crudup.
The dialouge between the two, I thought was quite good as well. Like:
Sarah: Sometimes it's so infuriating loving you.
Fielding: The feeling's mutual.
Little things like that that go unnoticed. Anyway, really good movie and I highly recommend it.
GRADE: A-
Movie Review: look beyond the obvious
Summary: 5 Stars
people, people. look beyond the obvious. this isnt a love story. it isnt a ghost story. it isnt a story about politics. it is a story about waking what lies dead inside of us. it isnt about the love he had for her dying- it is about what was awake and alive in him- what she had awakened in him when they met- not love- but a passion for life. a purpose. the both were idealistic and had a zest for the power that politics and activism had for contributing to life- to make a difference. dont you remember the scene towards the end, when he has finally been "awakened" again to himself, and he reads the letters that his constituents have written to him, that he FINALLY SEES THEM? not as hallucinations- but as people. he is touched by them. it is no longer a job that he can go thru blindly anymore, just for the political power and fame. he can no longer go thru life, "dead" or numb. this is the 'dead' that is awakened in him- thus "waking the dead."
i thought this movie was fantastic how it took you through the process of his journey back to himself. just great.
Movie Review: So, so good...
Summary: 5 Stars
Some movies are so damn beautiful that you feel stupid trying to describe them. Waking The Dead fits into that category, along with Wings Of Desire, Paris Texas, and Double Life of Veronique.It's a love story with political subtext. It's a ghost story that may not be. Plot-wise, this movie is nothing special, but the way it's filmed and the music and the ACTING are all so frickin' perfect that it ends up being far more than the sum of its parts.
A word to the wise: Be sure to get the DVD (as opposed to the VHS) because there's about 45 minutes of deleted scenes and some of them are every bit as good as the film. I can understand why the director felt obliged to remove them... the movie really would have been quite lengthy if he hadn't, but the scene where Fielding and Sarah go to see Sarah's parents and visit the house where she grew up really shouldn't have been cut because it's quite beautiful.
Romantic, thought-provoking, and emotionally provocative.. Waking The Dead is the best movie I've seen in a long, long time.
Movie Review: Powerful and heart wrenching, Crudup is incredible
Summary: 5 Stars
Billy Crudup (Big Fish) and Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) give, in my opinion, the best performances of their careers in this surprisingly haunting, powerful, and heart wrenching film. Waking the Dead tells the story of Fielding Pierce (Crudup), a congress hopeful who years earlier lost his true love Sarah (Conelly) in Chile. Throughout the entirity of the movie, the film flashes back and fourth in time as we see how the two meet, fall in love, and long for each other, until the tragedy which changes Fielding forever. Crudup is incredible, words alone can't describe how good this guy is in this role. After watching this for the first time, I can honestly say that he was robbed out of even an Oscar nomination. The way the film shifts back and fourth through time could have led to disastrous results, but it is handled exceptionally well by director Keith Gordon who pulls exceptional performances from the two leads. All in all, consider Waking the Dead a must see.