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City of Angels
An Americanized version of a German film, the 1998 romantic melodrama City of Angels is more than watchable thanks to the lovely performances by Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan that allow the viewer to let inconsistencies in the screenplay slide.
Based on the 1987 Wim Venders film Wings of Desire. it is present day Los Angeles where Cage plays Seth, one of hundreds of angels who are overlooking the city and one of Seth's primary duties is to find people who are getting ready to die and escort them to the afterlife. While waiting for one soul to pass, Seth finds himself entranced by the man's surgeon, Dr. Maggie Rice (Ryan), a slightly arrogant but compassionate surgeon who is not accustomed to losing patients and is very angry about losing this one. Seth appears to Maggie to assure her that the man's death was not her fault and though she is inconsolable, it does not stop Seth from falling in love with her.
Seth discusses his predicament with fellow angel Cassiel (Andre Braugher) who informs Seth that he has the option to "fall" to earth and become human, allowing him to taste, feel, and be with the woman he loves. Unbeknownst to Seth, there is another patient of Dr. Maggie's named Nathaniel Messenger (Dennis Franz) who it turns out was an angel who went through the falling process, is now human, but being lured back to his heavenly duties.
Wenders and Peter Handke, who wrote Wings of Desire also wrote the screenplay for this version of their story which provides the viewer with a luminous love story at its core that, unfortunately, doesn't bare much scrutiny because there's a lot of stuff happening at the periphery of the story that are troubling. For instance, there are a lot of scenes with angels sitting on top of very tall buildings, billboards, and unfinished skyscrapers. In one scene, Seth and Mr. Messenger are seen sitting on top of one of these structures. At this point in the story, Messenger is already human, how was he supposed to get Messenger up there? And how did he get Messenger to the morning beach mediation that the angels have every morning? And how was Maggie able to grab Seth's hand and cut him with the knife if he was unable to touch her? And after Seth becomes human, he is observed hitchhiking to Tahoe to stop Maggie's wedding to her uptight boyfriend (Colm Feore)in Tahoe? He doesn't know what a pear tastes like but he knows how to hitchhike? And even at the end of the movie, we see Seth going grocery shopping...he's only been human for about an hour, how is he going to pay for groceries?
But you know what? Cage and Ryan are so completely enchanting as these characters, that eventually the viewer just lets all these little details slide and enjoy one of the most romantic stories I've ever seen. Cage has rarely appeared so sensitive onscreen and Ryan offers one of her strongest performances as Dr. Maggie. Franz is a lot of fun as Messenger and Andre Braugher makes the most out of a thankless role. Stunning cinematography and gorgeous music are the frosting on this cinematic cake that lovers of films like Ghost will definitely be able to invest in.
An Americanized version of a German film, the 1998 romantic melodrama City of Angels is more than watchable thanks to the lovely performances by Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan that allow the viewer to let inconsistencies in the screenplay slide.
Based on the 1987 Wim Venders film Wings of Desire. it is present day Los Angeles where Cage plays Seth, one of hundreds of angels who are overlooking the city and one of Seth's primary duties is to find people who are getting ready to die and escort them to the afterlife. While waiting for one soul to pass, Seth finds himself entranced by the man's surgeon, Dr. Maggie Rice (Ryan), a slightly arrogant but compassionate surgeon who is not accustomed to losing patients and is very angry about losing this one. Seth appears to Maggie to assure her that the man's death was not her fault and though she is inconsolable, it does not stop Seth from falling in love with her.
Seth discusses his predicament with fellow angel Cassiel (Andre Braugher) who informs Seth that he has the option to "fall" to earth and become human, allowing him to taste, feel, and be with the woman he loves. Unbeknownst to Seth, there is another patient of Dr. Maggie's named Nathaniel Messenger (Dennis Franz) who it turns out was an angel who went through the falling process, is now human, but being lured back to his heavenly duties.
Wenders and Peter Handke, who wrote Wings of Desire also wrote the screenplay for this version of their story which provides the viewer with a luminous love story at its core that, unfortunately, doesn't bare much scrutiny because there's a lot of stuff happening at the periphery of the story that are troubling. For instance, there are a lot of scenes with angels sitting on top of very tall buildings, billboards, and unfinished skyscrapers. In one scene, Seth and Mr. Messenger are seen sitting on top of one of these structures. At this point in the story, Messenger is already human, how was he supposed to get Messenger up there? And how did he get Messenger to the morning beach mediation that the angels have every morning? And how was Maggie able to grab Seth's hand and cut him with the knife if he was unable to touch her? And after Seth becomes human, he is observed hitchhiking to Tahoe to stop Maggie's wedding to her uptight boyfriend (Colm Feore)in Tahoe? He doesn't know what a pear tastes like but he knows how to hitchhike? And even at the end of the movie, we see Seth going grocery shopping...he's only been human for about an hour, how is he going to pay for groceries?
But you know what? Cage and Ryan are so completely enchanting as these characters, that eventually the viewer just lets all these little details slide and enjoy one of the most romantic stories I've ever seen. Cage has rarely appeared so sensitive onscreen and Ryan offers one of her strongest performances as Dr. Maggie. Franz is a lot of fun as Messenger and Andre Braugher makes the most out of a thankless role. Stunning cinematography and gorgeous music are the frosting on this cinematic cake that lovers of films like Ghost will definitely be able to invest in.