City Of Angels has wings
City Of Angels A Film Review By Michael Redman Copyright 1998 By Michael Redman
***1/2 (out of ****)
As we approach the new Millennium, things are looking scary. There's a possibility that everything's going to fall apart and if it doesn't, all those frightening zeroes still loom on the horizon.
Even now there's too much to do. No one can get it all done. Although the DOW keeps peaking, the man on the street's finances looks worse every day. These are hard times. Change is accelerating and it's difficult to cope.
It's no wonder that we yearn for someone to watch over us.
That may explain the growing search for a new faith. The twin churches of Science and Economics haven't done such a good job and even UFOs coming to whisk us away to a better existence are starting to look good. It might also account for the fascination with angels.
For the past few years angels have been appearing wherever you turn. They are in Hallmark stores, staring down at you from living room walls, in numerous books and on television. Hollywood, not being an industry to ignore trends has given us "Michael" and "The Preacher's Wife" among others and now we have an entire city of the heavenly beings.
Seth (Nicolas Cage) hangs out in Los Angeles with his fellow invisible spirits escorting the recently departed to their just rewards. In a hospital to gather the soul of a patient who died on the operating table, he encounters heart surgeon Maggie Rice (Meg Ryan). Not even the saintly can resist the heavenly charms of Ms Ryan and he is smitten.
Eventually he allows Maggie to see him and she is drawn to the tall brooding man in a black trench coat. They have problems besides the inter-species dating situation. Seth can't touch or taste anything.
Nathaniel Messinger ("NYPD Blue"'s Denis Franz), a heart patient in the hospital, shocks Seth one day when he starts talking to him. Messinger is himself a former heavenly spirit and tells him that he can become human. To do so, he must give up everything that he is. For Seth, being in love is literally taking the great fall.
I have a major prejudice against remakes of European films for the American audience especially reconstructions of truly phenomenal movies. This is a redo of Wim Wenders' masterpiece "Wings Of Desire" and remarkably enough is a fine film in its own right. There's none of the dumbing-down that usually takes place to make the product palatable to the public. It's is different but it's moving.
The ethereal existence of the angels is beautiful and eternal, but oxymoronically lacks soul. Dozens of them stand on the beach at sunrise listening to the heavenly music. They watch from on high but they can't feel.
Messinger on the other hand is a self-described hedonist and loving every minute of it. He may be only human now, but he's digging every minute of it. He loves his wife and kids, body surfing and earthly delights. The scene where he sneaks out of the hospital for a multi-course breakfast and stuffs every goopy syrupy thing that he can find into his mouth is a delight.
That's what this film is about. The story of angels and their interaction with people is engaging, but the theme is the choice between observing and being. When Seth takes the leap of faith, he must abandon everything that he has ever known to become real. He's leaving a safe place for a risky uncertain future, but it's a future where he will be engaged with the energy of being. He's risking it all to gain it all.
Director Brad Silberling (who surprisingly also directed "Casper") pulls out the best from the actors. Cage does fine as the somber angel aching to cut loose. Ryan is nearly always a delight, and here she demonstrates a wide emotional range. Her desperation when her patient dies and her elation at being in love are both convincing. The chemistry between the two is obvious. When they look into each other's eyes, the attraction is undeniable. Their first touch and kiss is the stuff of memories.
Franz steals every scene that he's in and is fascinating to watch. Sitting back at a cook-out in his blue-collar back yard, he's having the time of his life. He's thoroughly a human being with all the passionate sloppiness that entails.
The star of the film is the moody cinematography. John Seale ("The English Patient") perfectly captures the otherworldliness of the angels. The _feel_ of this film will stay with you for quite a while.
As many people are facing their own unpredictable futures, it might serve us to realize that "safe" often is "sorry". The question of where to place our faith is a puzzling one but, as Seth tells Maggie, "Some things are true whether you believe in them or not."
(Michael Redman has written this column for well over 23 years and sometimes he thinks his guardian angel is taking a nap. Statements of theology can go to redman@bvoice.com)
[This appeared in the 4/16/98 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at redman@bvoice.com]
-- mailto:redman@bvoice.com This week's film review at http://www.bvoice.com/ Film reviews archive at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman
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