Dying to Live

Rachel Linden (Hayley Du Mond) and Matt Jannett (Gabriel Mann) are sweathearts in a deep love for each other. Leslie Chambers (Linda Cardellini) likes Matt, but he refuses her. In a party, the evil Leslie puts some drugs in Rachel's drink, but Matt drinks it, causing an accident with Rachel. She dies, and the angel Will (Jonathan Frakes) takes care of her. This movie is an enjoyable story of angel and spirit. Although being a television movie, it was released on VHS in Brazil and it is indeed a nice story. I did not like the conclusion of the plot, but it is a film good to see. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): `Morrendo Para Viver' (`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...

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.

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!!!!

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.