Dying to Live

OK, I'll admit it, I'd drink Linda Cardellini's bath water if she wanted me to, so this review might be a bit biased. All in all this flick is just 90 minutes of harmless fun with some decent acting, a few funny one liners from Jonathan Frakes and enough plot jogs (not quite twists) to keep you watching. Hayley Dumond gives an excellent performance as a HS girl who's life is cut short by the scheming, nasty Shannon Elizabeth. Jonathan Frakes, who plays an angel on a mission, arrives back on Earth to help her make the transition from her mortal life to her eternal life in the 'hereafter', but first he's got some work to do. Through his (Frakes) help, the real killer is finally caught and his work here on Earth is done. And if you've ever seen a movie or read a book that involves an angel returning to the 'mortal world' you can kind of figure out what's going to happen once all the clues fall in to place. Even if you figure it out ahead of time it's still an OK movie. Now, back to Linda Cardellini. In this flick she plays the cute, tough friend that she's played in a number of movies and TV shows already. If you've never seen her or experienced her work I'd advise getting a copy of the TV show 'Freaks and Geeks' - this woman is phenominal! Talented and heart-stoppingly beautiful, Ms. Cardellini can convey more emotion with her facial expression than most actors can get from five pages of dialog. She is truly amazing. Keep your eye on her, 'Scooby Doo' not withstanding, she is a tremendous talent. All in all, 'Dying to Live' is an interesting little made for TV movie made all the more watchable because of two female leads that you'll be seeing a lot more of in the future. Now, if Shannon Elizabeth could just act...

With all the angel films that have been coming out, it was surprising to see an actually pretty good tv-version. Several recent actors have played angels over the past few years. John Travolta was "Michael," Denzel Washington was in "The Preacher's Wife," Cuba Gooding got a shot at it in "What Dreams May Come," and let's not forget Nicolas Cage in "City of Angels." Now we have Jonathan Frakes of the "Star Trek" fame in this. It's a good film. It certainly lives up to its standards. The plot is simple, but the cast is very good, and it rises some interesting ideas not tried before in angel films (but they have been used in "Ghost"....I won't give anything away).

If it comes back on or comes out to video, give it a shot. It's one of those "warm, fuzzy" movies, but if you're into the angel genre, you'll go nuts over it. Others will find it appealing and well-acted.

Dying to Live, was a Great movie, I rank it along the lines of Somewhere In Time, Always and Heaven Can Wait. Oh! and Field of Dreams Can't forget it. I thought Hayley DuMond gave a GREAT Performance for a new comer to the field of movies, I have also seen her in a few other things, such as Early Edition and Sliders also a few commercials in the earlier days in Hollywood. I do believe Hayley has the makings of a Great Star, and will go far in her career. Reach for the Moon & Stars Hayley!!

This movie, blended a mixture of ghost and the 1999 Hollywood craze of teenage movies. The plot is simple, but the movie is well acted and also very interesting. Although it is a TV movie, it is better than most of this year's cinema releases. This movie shows a great improvement in the making of television movies this decade. WELL DONE PARAMOUNT!!!!

Dying to Live was really a good movie! Considering most TV fare, this film came through for me, unlike most teen films made for the small screen. Acting was generally good, but not much depth was required of the actors. Little was asked of Jonathan Frakes who was not much more than a narrator. Gabriel Mann was very good as Matthew, but I think he fell short when true depth and emotion was needed. Linda Cardellini was convincing as the cute Leslie, as was Shannon Elizabeth as the pathetic Vanessa, but it was Hayley DuMond who really put effort and heart into her roll. DuMond really shone. She was adorable as Rachel. She brought emotion and depth to the part and credibility to the story. Her torment and hurt when her father rejected her boyfriends plea for forgiveness was so believable, I believe there were actually tears on viewers cheeks, and this was only one of several scenes where she pulled us totally into her character and she actually moved us.

The story was small and perhaps cliche, but it held my interest from beginning to end and the little twist in the end worked. I liked this film.