Dying to Live

Was up late one night, channel hopping and this just started and missed the beginning credits, so I did not really have a clue what it was about.

Started of as the usual teen flick, with a guy having a psycho for an ex-girlfriend who now has a problem adjusting to the fact that he has found someone new. The new girlfriend gets murdered with the boyfriend as chief suspect and surprise, surprise the psychopath being everyones Miss Innocent, well apart from one lady detective. The murder victim becomes an angel and Johnathan Frakes is her guide who helps her to prove to the world what really happened. Mr Frakes seems to have the same wardrobe as in that paranormal/weird happenings show he does. Throughout the film I felt he had ulterior motives, I was wondering is he a good angel or a baddie.

The film itself has that made for TV feel about it, however its very well acted by all. Special mention must be for the three main females who play each of their parts well. The script throughout is never too slushy or biblical. A sort of mixture between Ghost and an episode of Highway to Heaven. All in all a very good film for its genre and worth watching. Nice little twist at the end, which I was not expecting.

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...

I saw this movie on lifetime and ever since then i look all over for the movie on DVD or VHS and i have not been able to find it anywhere! i love it so much... it is my all time favorite movie.. if anyone knows where to find it.. please tell me I most definitely recommend this movie to anybody.. there is something in it for everyone... there is also and important lesson for everyone to learn.... everyone of all ages should see this movie... it is not something you should protect your child from seeing because this movie is truly fantastic.. i love it so much and if i owned it i would watch it every day of my life all of the time. it is so good... go buy it... if you find it tell me where you got it please i have been looking for over a year

To tell the truth I really liked this movie. It brought me back to my high school days and reminded me of what it was like to be young and in love. Overall, I just really liked the movie, good acting, good plot, good ending.

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.