VALUTAZIONE IMDb
6,4/10
7853
LA TUA VALUTAZIONE
Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaA congressional candidate questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge.A congressional candidate questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge.A congressional candidate questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge.
- Regia
- Sceneggiatura
- Star
- Premi
- 1 candidatura in totale
Recensioni in evidenza
Never mind `Traffic'. Forget `Gladiator'. To find 2000's finest, most nail-on-the-head perfect film, you'll need to look a little deeper. A small film that only enjoyed limited release in theaters and isn't getting much attention on DVD either, is Keith Gordon's latest, `Waking the Dead'.
Back in 1992, there was another under-appreciated independent film called `A Midnight Clear' that had the misfortune of being released alongside the likes of `Unforgiven' and `Last of the Mohicans'. For reasons I can't fathom, this brilliant film seemingly did nothing to help Gordon's career. His budgets stayed small, but he continued looking for the most daring and fascinating material. In 1996, he released `Mother Night', another war-themed film, only this time set in the aftermath of WWII.
With `Waking the Dead', Gordon outdoes himself. He casts Billy Crudup as Fielding Pierce, an ambitious Coast Guard officer who'd like to be president--and he means it. His world is turned upside-down when he meets Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly), who just wants to feel like she `lives on the planet'. Fielding and Sarah could not be more different, yet they cannot live without each other. Each is the antithesis of the other, which dooms their relationship and intensifies their love at the same time.
The film begins with the announcement of Sarah's death, and continues pulling you back and forth in time. Employing this storytelling technique and maintaining the momentum of the story is a difficult task. While we see Fielding wrestle with her memory, we're shown the powerful connection these two had during her life.
What's more, Fielding begins to see visions of her. Some of these visions are so real, he begins to believe she's alive. The hauntings come just as he begins campaigning for the U.S. House. It begins to affect his life and threatens his campaign. The question of whether Sarah is really alive is the dramatic carrot Gordon dangles in front of us. It's then we realize that she was his conscience in life and remains so in death. Gordon pours it on right until the very last frame. He gets the best performance of Connelly's career out of her, plus a jaw-dropping performance out of Crudup that's worthy of an Oscar. Whoever was in charge of plugging this film for awards nominations must have fallen asleep at the wheel (though I see it did win an Independent Spirit award for its script).
That this film or others in the same situation get no recognition is definitely for the best. The more popular a film becomes, the more idiots that come out of the woodwork to second-guess it. So best to leave it to be discovered by those willing to seek it out. It is 2000's crown jewel.
Grade: A (but only because there isn't a higher grade)
Back in 1992, there was another under-appreciated independent film called `A Midnight Clear' that had the misfortune of being released alongside the likes of `Unforgiven' and `Last of the Mohicans'. For reasons I can't fathom, this brilliant film seemingly did nothing to help Gordon's career. His budgets stayed small, but he continued looking for the most daring and fascinating material. In 1996, he released `Mother Night', another war-themed film, only this time set in the aftermath of WWII.
With `Waking the Dead', Gordon outdoes himself. He casts Billy Crudup as Fielding Pierce, an ambitious Coast Guard officer who'd like to be president--and he means it. His world is turned upside-down when he meets Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly), who just wants to feel like she `lives on the planet'. Fielding and Sarah could not be more different, yet they cannot live without each other. Each is the antithesis of the other, which dooms their relationship and intensifies their love at the same time.
The film begins with the announcement of Sarah's death, and continues pulling you back and forth in time. Employing this storytelling technique and maintaining the momentum of the story is a difficult task. While we see Fielding wrestle with her memory, we're shown the powerful connection these two had during her life.
What's more, Fielding begins to see visions of her. Some of these visions are so real, he begins to believe she's alive. The hauntings come just as he begins campaigning for the U.S. House. It begins to affect his life and threatens his campaign. The question of whether Sarah is really alive is the dramatic carrot Gordon dangles in front of us. It's then we realize that she was his conscience in life and remains so in death. Gordon pours it on right until the very last frame. He gets the best performance of Connelly's career out of her, plus a jaw-dropping performance out of Crudup that's worthy of an Oscar. Whoever was in charge of plugging this film for awards nominations must have fallen asleep at the wheel (though I see it did win an Independent Spirit award for its script).
That this film or others in the same situation get no recognition is definitely for the best. The more popular a film becomes, the more idiots that come out of the woodwork to second-guess it. So best to leave it to be discovered by those willing to seek it out. It is 2000's crown jewel.
Grade: A (but only because there isn't a higher grade)
10rbrb
Currently showing on cable this movie is sensational. A young want to be politician apparently loses the love of his life, and the film centres on that love and his grief. Rarely can such emotions have been more compellingly and brilliantly portrayed on film.It is thought provoking and often scary too. There is a superb screenplay and all the performers are excellent. Anyone who has every loved another will know that you see that love wherever you go; and the lead actor's portrayal of that emotion is at genius level.The most emotionally charged scene is at the restaurant of the election results are known, and I for one cannot recall any movie where a particular scene is so intensely sensitive or almost uncomfortably realistic.For quiet and justifiably restrained but wonderful adult entertainment, this is the best film I have seen in years. 10 out of 10.
This is one of those films that you watch and contemplate later in your life. As far as losing someone you love, and how that effects every major decision you will ever make for the rest of your life, this film is the most realistic portrayal I have ever seen. Billy Crudup was meant to play Fielding in this movie. This movie is haunting and is just one of those little movies that falls through the cracks but is never forgotten. A stunning movie directing by none other than the director of A Midnight Clear, another terrific film. If you are reading this you should seek out this movie or just buy it online. I give Waking the Dead 9/10.
Based on initial assumptions, this could easily be taken for the usual chick-flick weeper, and dismissed for that reason and because it does not follow the usual rules of narrative, but jumps before and after the key romance: but don't be fooled--while not intellectually complex, this is a film of some suspense and a good deal of character development, a film about how love could upend our expectations and about our reactions to sudden and permanent loss.
Waking The Dead is so crammed with genuine performances from the ensemble that if you allow yourself an immersion in Billy Crudup's confusion, you cannot help but think about those who perhaps you have lost and what they mean to you now; both Crudup and Connelly exude dedication, and one key scene stands out as an exemplar of acting technique coupled with intuitive choices; in his director's commentary, Keith Gordon reveals himself to be the sort of guy you'd like to know, not only for his direct honesty, but simply because he's fun to listen to
Waking The Dead is so crammed with genuine performances from the ensemble that if you allow yourself an immersion in Billy Crudup's confusion, you cannot help but think about those who perhaps you have lost and what they mean to you now; both Crudup and Connelly exude dedication, and one key scene stands out as an exemplar of acting technique coupled with intuitive choices; in his director's commentary, Keith Gordon reveals himself to be the sort of guy you'd like to know, not only for his direct honesty, but simply because he's fun to listen to
Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup) has one ambition: to be President of the United States. His entire life is planned out to reach that goal. Only he didn't plan on Sarah (Jennifer Connelly). Sarah is a free spirited, radical human rights advocate. We meet them on the day she dies and then flash back to the inception of their relationship in 1972. He is The Establishment personified. She is an iconoclast. Two philosophies more incompatible could not possibly exist, but despite everything, they fall in love.
The story then fast-forwards to Fielding's campaign for the House of Representatives ten years after Sarah's death. It is at this time that Fielding becomes obsessed with Sarah's ghost. He believes he is seeing her everywhere and that he is surely losing his mind. He begins to question his own philosophies and begins to lose his will to win the election.
The film is an engrossing character study of two very fascinating people cut of completely different cloth. The non-linear approach used by Director Keith Gordon was both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it provided important character development and motivation and at others, it jumped back and forth for no good reason. This often made the film seem disjointed and hard to follow. Gordon's direction was only fair, though he delivered accurate period renderings especially of the 1970's. There were too many instances of unnecessary stylizing. For instance, there was excessive use of monologue jump cuts, where he cut from the speaker saying one thing to the same speaker in the same spot saying something else. He used it so often that it looked like bad editing.
In addition, Gordon tended to focus on the schmaltzy romantic angle and downplayed the far more interesting philosophical tension. He did give us some dialectic, but generally cut away when the philosophical fireworks were just getting started. He also kept treading over the same ground in different ways. This made the story drag.
The acting by both leads was terrific. This film brings Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly together again, both having appeared in `Inventing the Abbotts'. Crudup was extremely impressive as the tormented politician. This was an exquisitely complex character and Crudup flexed the role to the max. Connelly was a bit more uneven in her role, sometimes playing the role with great force, but at others with a mousy self-consciousness that was inconsistent with the character. Still, she gave Sarah great depth as both a lover and a crusader, and a convincing passion for her beliefs.
This is an absorbing but slow moving romance that is a bit heavy handed, but nonetheless interesting. I rated it a 7/10. It showcases good performances by two young actors we will surely hear from again. Not recommended for impatient viewers.
The story then fast-forwards to Fielding's campaign for the House of Representatives ten years after Sarah's death. It is at this time that Fielding becomes obsessed with Sarah's ghost. He believes he is seeing her everywhere and that he is surely losing his mind. He begins to question his own philosophies and begins to lose his will to win the election.
The film is an engrossing character study of two very fascinating people cut of completely different cloth. The non-linear approach used by Director Keith Gordon was both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it provided important character development and motivation and at others, it jumped back and forth for no good reason. This often made the film seem disjointed and hard to follow. Gordon's direction was only fair, though he delivered accurate period renderings especially of the 1970's. There were too many instances of unnecessary stylizing. For instance, there was excessive use of monologue jump cuts, where he cut from the speaker saying one thing to the same speaker in the same spot saying something else. He used it so often that it looked like bad editing.
In addition, Gordon tended to focus on the schmaltzy romantic angle and downplayed the far more interesting philosophical tension. He did give us some dialectic, but generally cut away when the philosophical fireworks were just getting started. He also kept treading over the same ground in different ways. This made the story drag.
The acting by both leads was terrific. This film brings Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly together again, both having appeared in `Inventing the Abbotts'. Crudup was extremely impressive as the tormented politician. This was an exquisitely complex character and Crudup flexed the role to the max. Connelly was a bit more uneven in her role, sometimes playing the role with great force, but at others with a mousy self-consciousness that was inconsistent with the character. Still, she gave Sarah great depth as both a lover and a crusader, and a convincing passion for her beliefs.
This is an absorbing but slow moving romance that is a bit heavy handed, but nonetheless interesting. I rated it a 7/10. It showcases good performances by two young actors we will surely hear from again. Not recommended for impatient viewers.
Lo sapevi?
- QuizJennifer Connelly's son Kai was in the film. She was holding him in the scene in which Fielding was at the church.
- BlooperDuring an argument in his new apartment, Fielding's (Billy Crudup) new girlfriend calls him "Billy".
- Citazioni
Sarah Williams: Ambition is... the ice on the lake of emotion.
[They walk for a moment in silence]
Fielding Pierce: Who said that?
Sarah Williams: I did.
- Versioni alternativeIn the U.S. DVD release, the passionate sex scene between Fielding and Sarah is more graphic, and contains more nudity.
- Colonne sonoreSnow Come Down
Performed by Lori Carson
Courtesy of Restless Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
I più visti
Accedi per valutare e creare un elenco di titoli salvati per ottenere consigli personalizzati
- How long is Waking the Dead?Powered by Alexa
Dettagli
Botteghino
- Budget
- 8.500.000 USD (previsto)
- Lordo Stati Uniti e Canada
- 270.745 USD
- Fine settimana di apertura Stati Uniti e Canada
- 150.422 USD
- 26 mar 2000
- Lordo in tutto il mondo
- 270.745 USD
- Tempo di esecuzione1 ora 45 minuti
- Colore
- Mix di suoni
- Proporzioni
- 1.85 : 1
Contribuisci a questa pagina
Suggerisci una modifica o aggiungi i contenuti mancanti