City of Angels
I'm a sucker for films like City of Angels. You know, melodramatic, tear-jerking, and fun. However, City of Angels is more than just that. It's a film that asks heavy questions and provides little answers (or at least unclear ones). The questions have been asked in film before, but not in one so widely appreciated by audiences. Nowadays (or rather, ever since Titanic), audiences are looking for well-made romantic-dramas. The key phrase of that is the "drama," as audiences usually stay away from them. It's sad, really, because most people would rather see a film like Lost In Space than The Sweet Hereafter (the latter being infinitely better than the former).
But that's a personal choice that everyone must make. Which genre fits them more? Would you rather see mind-boggling action that you could never see anywhere else? Or would you rather see a quiet and thought-provoking drama that stirs the imagination? Again, it just depends on you. City of Angels is a rarity of Hollywood films--it remakes Wings of Desire, a great German film (from what I have heard anyway), and turns it into an entertaining drama that can probably hold its own when compared to the original. Now, because City of Angels is from Hollywood, there are going to be those who think it automatically isn't as good as its predecessor. Let's face it: Hollywood wants money, not quality. And so, City of Angels is a genuine surprise, investing a lot of soul and wit into it's romantic plot line.
City of Angels begins in Los Angeles, with a young girl dying. Standing next to her bed is an angel, Seth (Nicolas Cage). The girl can see Seth and talks to him, but her mother just thinks she's delirious, so she rushes her to the hospital, where she dies. Seth proceeds to take her soul up to heaven. The real plot takes into motion when Maggie (Meg Ryan) loses a patient because of unavoidable problems. However, she still blames herself, and Seth is there to take the man's soul. Seth sees Maggie's pain and sorrow, and he can't help but watch in fascination. Soon, that fascination turns into something more, and he wants to become visible to her. After some advice from Cassiel (André Braugher), one of Seth's fellow angels, he decides to show himself to her.
They first meet in front of Nathaniel Messinger's (Dennis Franz) room. Maggie becomes immediately attracted to the tall, dark, and mysterious man who seems to peer into her soul. Of course, she is in a relationship, but after seeing Seth, she tries to get her boyfriend (Colm Feore) to just sit and look at her, the way Seth looked at her. After that fails, Maggie begins to question her stale relationship in order to pursue Seth. They meet again in the library (where some wonderful dialogue passes between them), and soon Seth finds himself falling in love with her. After talking with Nathaniel Messinger, a fallen angel who decided to become human for a woman, he decides to do it. Up to this point, the film is intelligent, original, and non-Hollywood-ish. Unfortunately, it ends here, and turns into the typical melodramatic ending that we have come to know and love.
The screenplay, adapted by Dana Stevens, follows a similar plot of the film that inspired it. However, Stevens opted to aim more for the romantic story instead of the philosophical one. While there are still some fascinating questions asked, the chemistry between Seth and Maggie is so palpable and interesting that we want to see more of that. It was a very good decision, since remaking the entire original film would have been pointless. Stevens includes a lot of smart dialogue as well as some very nice characterization scenes. It's a shame that she had to rely on the typical romantic drama ending. If you have seen Titanic or any other film like this, you already know the ending. But without spoiling it for you, I will say that it is completely predictable, which is one of the film's few flaws.
Director Brad Silberling (Casper) has handled this film with the utmost care. His visuals are subtle and dreamlike. The cinematography by John Seale (from The English Patient) is incredibly well done. Many of his shots are those of the city, as the camera flies over different locations, and angels stand everywhere. While it's a nice visual, it doesn't really serve a purpose to the story (why were angels sitting atop the Hollywood sign?). But Silberling has enough sensibility to maintain a steady, fairy tale quality to the storytelling. The angels, all dressed in silky black outfits, move gracefully and ... well, like angels would move. This is not the typical portrayal of angels, which usually go for angels dressed in white sitting on clouds playing harps. It's more like Michael, only much better. The angels walk around, protecting and comforting those in need. It's rather touching, though it does cause some questions to be asked afterwards. But while watching the film, none of this really matters. The music by Gabriel Yared is haunting and fitting. Some of the songs are done by well-known artists, but the best goes to Alanis Morissette for her suitably angelic "Uninvited."
Of course, despite all the technical details that help the film, the actors do the most, adding a lot of credibility to the characters. Nicolas Cage gives yet another impressive performance. Cage is one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood, and also one of the best. He can express the most simplistic emotion with one look, but most actors can do that. Cage has the ability to express complex emotions without one word, as he has to do for this role quite often. Meg Ryan holds her own, and neither of the actors ever outperform the other. Ryan is given a more complex character, as she has more to deal with than Cage. Ryan's reactions to Cage are perfect, and some of her moments alone are heartbreaking. Dennis Franz is a little annoying because of his irreverent attitude, but it is a good character. André Braugher also has some good moments, though he is mostly left in the background. But this is mostly just a two-man story, and Ryan and Cage succeed wonderfully.
City of Angels is rated PG-13 for sexuality including language, and some nudity. In my opinion, it should have been rated R because there is some highly objectionable material. During one scene, we see some brief full frontal nudity from Cage, and some sexual dialogue is rather explicit. Besides, most people wanting to see this film are in the 18-24 range. Despite this, City of Angels is a nice and underplayed film that deserves to be seen. And apparently, audiences are loving it. Titanic has made the romantic-dramas a much more popular genre, and most people will be grateful. There have been some released over the years that were hardly watched because of disinterest. Maybe one day, the normal dramas, like The Sweet Hereafter or The Ice Storm will be watched by more people. Oh, wait, it's the 90s... maybe not.