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| Waking the Dead |
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  (9/10)
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Runtime: 105 |
| Public Rating: 9.40 (10 votes) |
Director: Keith Gordon |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Drama |
Year: 2000 |
| Writer(s): Scott Spencer (novel), Robert Dillon |
| Distributor: 1 |
| Reviewed by: Kraemorr |
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Waking the Dead is a haunting film that captured me with its delicacy and beauty.
The film opens with Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup) looking inconsolable as he watches on television that his girlfriend Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly) has been killed in a car bombing attack. Then in a series of flashbacks, we find out how Sarah and Fielding met, how they fell in love, and how they were politically opposite. As they are falling more and more in love, they are being torn apart by their political differences. Fielding wants to become President; he is in the system, while Sarah is completely against the system. Aggravating Pierce by telling off political figures that he depends on, even though he agrees with her telling them off in the sense that they deserve it, he doesn’t like it because he needs them to help him make his dream of becoming President come true.
Eight years after Sarah’s death, however, Fielding starts seeing her, on television and at one point running after her. Is he becoming paranoid or is he really seeing her? Maybe he can see her, but only because his imagination is taking over. The fact that the end leaves the answer open to discussion left a lot of critics confused. Personally I think that the film was wrapped up with a beautifully enigmatic style.
Jennifer Connelly and Billy Crudup turn in brilliant performances. Connelly is beautifully delicate, but ultimately strong, and Crudup, who I first saw in Almost Famous, impressed me greatly, proving he has what it takes to become a major force in the world of acting.
This is the first film I’ve seen of director Keith Gordon and this film makes my mouth water for his earlier films. Waking the Dead, while what the story wants to achieve seems a bit obvious in its presentation and by that dims its power somewhat, captures from start to finish with vivid atmosphere.
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