# City of Angels (1998)

### reviewed by
Nathaniel R. Atcheson

    City of Angels (1998)

    Director:  Brad Silberling
    Cast:  Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan, Dennis Franz, Andre Braugher
    Screenplay:  Dana Stevens
    Producers:  Charles Roven, Dawn Steel
    Runtime:  116 min.
    US Distribution:  Warner Bros.
    Rated PG-13:  language, mild nudity

By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)

City of Angels is the kind of love story that I enjoy the most: thought-provoking, moving, and completely unsentimental. I find it interesting that this film has been released the same day as My Giant, which is a film that is undone completely by its wretched sentimentality. City of Angels is a wonderful film, enhanced by interesting and well-rounded characters and some of the most immersive imagery of the last couple of years. It's a love story that takes the familiar angel themes and makes them new and necessary to the story, and avoids most of the cliches we're so used to seeing in films like this.

City of Angels is an apparently loose remake of Wim Wenders' 1988 film Wings of Desire. I have yet to see Wings of Desire, so I am, unfortunately, unable to make a comparison of the two. I have heard, however, that City of Angels is dissimilar from the original in numerous ways, which makes me glad that this film isn't a rip-off of its source material.

Nicolas Cage stars as Seth, an angel who, like all of his angel counterparts, is present to lead the dying to heaven (or somewhere just like it). One day, he is forced to take the life of a patient of Dr. Maggie Rice (Meg Ryan), and his attention is called to her. The angels can make themselves seen to humans, but they can't experience any of the senses (most importantly, touch). He shows himself to Maggie, and she falls for him, unaware that he is slightly unavailable because of his apparition status.

Seth wants to become human so he can feel her. That's when he meets Nathaniel Messinger (Dennis Franz), "former celestial messenger and recent addition to the human race." (As a side note, I found Messinger to be the most fascinating character, for I can only imagine how incredibly liberating it must be to live knowing what lies beyond death.) Messinger explains to Seth that it is possible for angels to become human.

Seth manages to convince Maggie that he is an angel (I know, it sounds ridiculous, but the scene in which she finds out is exceptionally well-done); after much deliberation, she tells him that she could only be with a man who can feel. This, of course, is when Seth decides to take the plunge (literally) from a building; when he wakes up from the fall, he is human, and happy to feel what it's like to have a split lip and blood oozing from his forehead.

Since I love this film so much, I'll make a minor note that it certainly isn't perfect. Although it is original and mesmerizing, it does fall prey to a few of the cliches of the genre. The plotting of the story by writer Dawn Steel is rather formulaic (though the details are what make the story excellent, and Steel has done a great job with them). The ending, too, could have been more powerful and less predictable. These elements are minor, though, and barely detracted from my overall enjoyment of City of Angels.

The acting is superb from everyone involved. This is perhaps my second-favorite performance from Cage (my favorite being The Rock). He's quiet and pensive, and his eyes are engaging when he speaks his softly-toned words. He's perfect for a role like this, and at the same time he reassures us he's not bound by playing the psycho (though he is good at it, as he shows in Face/Off). Meg Ryan is a powerful, enticing, and appealingly-chirpy actress, and her work here is some of her best. Dennis Franz, however, steals all of his scenes as the energetic former-angel.

What I admire most about City of Angels is its overall presentation. Director Brad Silberling is a talented man, and he knows that a story like this is driven by the characters, rather than forced sentimentality. His direction is steady, and he shows this in just about every scene: near the beginning, Maggie has to tell a mother and her two children that their father is dead. There is no music or elaborate camera work; we simply see the reactions of the characters to the information. This is the way stories should be told, and the strength of scenes resonates more completely when the emotions are real.

The film also appeals to the senses in a way that few love stories do. Cinematographer John Seale (The English Patient) provides some of the most stunning images I've seen on the big screen: hundreds of black-clad angels stand on a dim beach in the early morning hours (just as an example). The music, by Gabriel Yared (also of The English Patient), is perfect for this film: it's quiet and moody music (but not sentimental!), and adds to the atmosphere and tone nicely. The visual presentation of City of Angels is easily the best of 1998 so far. All of this adds up to a film that is instantly set apart from other members of this genre. It's a film that relies on character development and imagery to get the story across--the excellent actors and the professional production values make City of Angels one of those rare films that both entertains and instigates thought simultaneously.

    ***1/2 out of ****
    (8/10, A-)

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               Nathaniel R. Atcheson

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