Waking the Dead (2000)

Director:

Keith Gordon

Writers (WGA):

Scott Spencer (novel)
Robert Dillon (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes love has a life of its own.

Plot:

A congressional candidate questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge.

Plot Keywords:

Obsessed With The Dead | Social Activism | Refugee | Human Rights | 1970s

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Billy Crudup	...	Fielding Pierce
Jennifer Connelly	...	Sarah Williams
Molly Parker	...	Juliet Beck
Janet McTeer	...	Caroline Pierce
Paul Hipp	...	Danny Pierce
Sandra Oh	...	Kim
Hal Holbrook	...	Isaac Green
Nelson Landrieu	...	Francisco Higgens
Ivonne Coll	...	Gisela Higgens
Lawrence Dane	...	Governor Kinosis
Ed Harris	...	Jerry Charmichael
Larry Marshall	...	Angelo Bertelli
Stanley Anderson	...	Fielding's Father
Patricia Gage	...	Fielding's Mother
John Carroll Lynch	...	Father Mileski

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | France:U | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Egg Pictures

Trivia:

Originally financed by Warner Brothers, who later backed out.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During an argument in his new apartment, Fielding's (Billy Crudup) new girlfriend calls him "Billy".

Quotes:

Sarah Williams: It is so infuriating loving you sometimes!
Fielding Pierce: Well, the feeling's mutual.

Movie Connections:

References Vertigo (1958)

Soundtrack:

Sunset Serenade

Politics Vs. Activism

You'll have to choose sides in 'Waking The Dead'. Are you going to be an obedient politician or a liberal activist? Those opposing viewpoints cause a tug-of-war, with eternal love playing the ever-tightening knot in the middle. Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly are Fielding and Sarah; he the idealistic politician and she the faithful revolutionary. We know from the start that she dies via car bomb while raging against the machine. The movie's chronology is all over the place (which is occasionally confusing) and we see them when they're blissfully happy and otherwise. But after she's gone, the upstanding young man fears for his marbles after he starts to see & hear his dead lover everywhere. Is she actually alive or is he just too insane for public office?

Seeing ghosts is tricky. It can turn into unintentional humour without the proper direction. Director Keith Gordon doesn't pull it off as well as he should, but at least the heat between them seems real. Crudup and Connelly make a great romantic match. She's sandpaper to his block of wood, but she's also his conscience. The phrase "Jiminy Cricket" is actually used, and he succeeds politically only as he's failing emotionally. He clearly needs her whispering in his ear, even if he wouldn't agree with what she would have to say. It's clear that she wouldn't approve of what he's become and he knows it. So I guess that makes her the ghost of Jiminy Cricket too.

The movie would be a turd without strong performances. While no one in the supporting cast has lingered in my memory, the talented leads have. They're both good in almost everything they do, so I expected them to be an excellent duo here too. Connelly has since won an Oscar and Crudup probably will too. Some of Gordon's directorial choices undercut what his actors are doing. His style of editing and use of too many arty shots don't work. When the actors are already front row centre, the director should get out of their way.

What grabbed me about 'Waking The Dead' was that both Fielding and Sarah are trying to make the world a better giant rock. She's counterculture and he's as mainstream as it gets. Since the story boils down to politics versus religion, it's no wonder the film didn't find an audience. Most people have opinions on those matters, yet political correctness demands you not share them. But you ARE allowed to discuss love. The movie knows how to get that right...the ache, the irritation, the yearning, and the loss of true love.