City Of Angels

What if you could live forever?

What if by living forever you could be free from pain, free from harm, free from hatred, yet you had to do it from the outside looking in, always at a distance? Not feeling a single touch, not smelling a single scent, not knowing how soothing the wind can be as it caresses your skin.......?

What if living forever meant you could feel love, but never experience love?

Would you still want to?

City of Angels

When I first saw City of Angels I was convinced it was the greatest love story ever told. I am sure it helped that I was in a new relationship with my then-boyfriend-now-husband Bill, but the emotions the movie invoked in me at the time were something only fairy tales are made of, and that impression was still felt long after the movie was over.

It's rather odd that I can say this about a chick flick as so clearly my preferred flavor of movies typically involves mass quantities of blood and guts. Every now and then though, the chick side of me rears its ugly head and I fall victim to the lure of everlasting unadulterated love in the guise of a really cool soundtrack, talented actors, and amazing direction.

That is exactly what City of Angels gave me (bear in mind this was BEFORE Meg Ryan decided to tramp herself out to the first Aussie that came along, otherwise I might have never watched it.)

City of Angels is a love story about Maggie (Meg Ryan), a troubled heart surgeon who can't seem to handle when she loses a patient on the operating table. She holds herself to extremely high expectations and when she falls short of that feels she has failed not only her patient, but herself as well.

Nicholas Cage plays the role of Seth, an angel who helps recently departed souls cross over. Being an angel who has never lived life as a human, Seth is fascinated by humanity and when aiding the deceased, always asks one question - "what was the best part about living?" The answers fulfill him, yet also leave him yearning for something he can't quite grasp.

At least, not until he discovers Maggie.

I've read some external reviews about this movie and the shallow ones slander City of Angels due to its lack of "beautiful people." Why would Cage give up eternity for the likes of Ryan? Why would Ryan be so believing of the likes of Cage as an angel? Blah Blah.... people can be so narrow minded.

The key to City of Angels, the one thing to realize in order to fully appreciate the movie for what it is, a parable of sorts, is that this movie is not about love of the physical, but rather love of the self. Of the soul. So you have to forget that Meg Ryan is a cheating slut, or that Nic Cage is really kind of odd looking (mostly) - and focus on the message....

Seth can't seem to stay away from Maggie, and Maggie doesn't want him to. Even when she learned of his immortality, she seems to want him more. There is an underlying theme of selfishness in this movie, as evidenced by Maggie playing on Seth's love for her so that he would "fall" - as in fall from grace to become human....

But one cannot know true happiness without pain, true love without loss, and this message too is not lost in the making of this film, thanks to Brad Silberling, for his direction, and John Seale, for his cinematography efforts which were, for me at least, amazing. Lighting effects illustrated unspoken emotions; great detail was given to small gestures so the viewer felt what was left unsaid; nature was amplified to portray beauty (and sorrow) in everyday life. And the strength of the cast delivered characters that convinced me that the passion was real, and I found it easy to get caught up in Maggie & Seth's desire to be completed in one another.

So how can a movie like this end and not leave you feeling cheated and regretful for having wasted 2 hours of your life on an unrealistic happily ever after? Can our star-crossed lovers be wrapped up into a happy little bow? Would that provide us with the conviction Silberling intended?

In a word, no, and that is what made this graduate from a good movie, to a great movie.

"When they ask me what the best part was, I'm going to tell them it was you."

[poll id="12"]