City of Angels Review
by Michael Redman (redman AT bvoice DOT com)April 17th, 1998
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 [email protected])
[This appeared in the 4/16/98 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana.
Michael Redman can be contacted at [email protected]]
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