MovieChat Forums > Waking the Dead (2000) Discussion > one of the most haunting,moving and unde...

one of the most haunting,moving and underrated...

posted 19 years ago by guigui-paul
25 replies | jump to latest

films of these last years...do you agree with me?

i really fell in love with "waking the dead" when i saw it in theaters in 2001 (i saw it two times in theaters,where it was released under the title "le fantôme de Sarah Williams")

the performances are wonderful: billy Crudup in particular is amazing and this is probably jennifer Connelly's best performance.
i love the atmosphere of this film,a very dreamy and almost surreal atmosphere,the use of snow landscape with tom Richmond's great cinematography and Tomandandy's AMAZING score are very haunting.

my favourite scenes:

SPOILERS

-the opening: an unexpected and tough opening!

-the phone call where Fielding is talking to his sister,watching at the snow falling down: there is here a feeling of sadness and the memory of Sarah which is quite haunting

-the scene where Fielding is hearing Sarah's voice and where he sees her on his bed...i like the use of lights and this scene with Sarah's ghost is quite strange and memorable.

-the subway scene: great acting!

-the flashback where you see Fielding in the church,just after Sarah's death:
Crudup's look is so painful and desperate,and the atmosphere is very haunting,with the moody soundtrack and this great "fade to white" on Sarah's ghostly face

-the phone call with "Sarah": Crudup here again is AMAZING...he becomes crazy and bursts in tears...wow,great acting...a powerful scene.

-the ending:

it's one of my favourite scenes ever...very sweet,sad,haunting and the two tracks (Tomandandy and peter Gabriel) are wonderful...a very very moving ending.

[–] vinnie22 19 years ago

I also thought the movie was great. Crudup and Connelly are both at the top of their game, and I think they are two of the best working today.

** SPOILERS **

The film really pulls you along, snipping away at you until the time when she actually shows up. The emotion of that scene, when he opens the door is just so powerful. They teased you with that the whole movie, and you never quite believe it's actually going to happen.

My favorite scene, though, as much as I though the ones you mentioned were great, was the dinner scene after he wins the election. And he's broken... he wants to let people know he feels crazy before he becomes too crazy to know that he's crazy. Outstanding acting job in that scene. Not too many actors can spill it all on the table like that...

[–] Gosamyr 19 years ago

I watched this movie for the first time last night and it is now (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful films ever made. The last scene where he does his monologue to Sarah left me in tears. Actually, the tears started before then... but needless to say I don't think I've ever been hit that hard by a film. Sure I've cried at other movies, but this one is staying with me. Gorgeous film....

LOL, in fact, I felt so sad by it I watched Plan 9 from Outer Space.... the worst film ever made. That had me laughing in no time!

Kat

"And that will be the story of you."

[–] novelsrus 17 years ago

Absolutely agree. This movie is for anyone who has ever lost their soulmate; who's ever been deeply, obsessively in love; tragically in love, with someone who either moves on or dies, like Sarah.

Then...the haunting images, the music, the atmosphere and mood are so evocative, so achingly beautiful, this has to rank at the very top of my list. One of the most beautiful, soulful, affecting movies of a timeless love ever filmed. And the acting is right off the charts; I'd no idea Crudup and Connelly were so talented, so skilled. So unforgettable.

I had to watch "Team America: World Police" afterward, to laugh away the tears.

[–] daffy_duck 19 years ago

Yes! I am so glad to hear that others are waking up to this movie! (pun intended sorry). My husband and I both LOVED this movie as you really get a sense for how much this couple truly love each other and how, despite of this love, they (or more her than him) were ultimately torn apart by their differing ideologies and respective "callings" in life. It ranks up there as one of the best romantic movies I have ever seen and sorely underrated (in part because of the title IMO).

[–] bogoss13_78 19 years ago

Billy Crudup is maybe the most underestimated actor I know. I don t remember if he got any nomination for this picture, but as someone said earlier, not many actors can give so much in such a little amount of time as Billy does in the dinner scene.He made me cry... I cried to Titanic too, but I mean this Was a big boat. ;-) And how can you NOT fall in love with Jennifer Connelly. Her acting is perfect for the role. she s so mild and yet so angry at crudup, the world... just love the movie. Hope to see much more of billy crudup.

[–] Travis_Bickle01 19 years ago

I completely agree, very much underrated!

it's a spectacular and intense drama

Crudup and Connely are breathtaking

wonderful! a must see

[–] Spamlet 19 years ago

If everything else in the film were as good as the performances I'd agree. Almost everyone in the cast gives a great performance especially Crudup who is absolute perfection here. McTeer and the others provide excellent supporting work.

Unfortunately, the screenplay and execution of it are so extremely clunky and it's so cheaply and badly shot that in a lot of places it actually looks like the work of a first time student director. There are a few really good scenes here and there but no real cohesion for them. That was surprising seeing that Gordon's track record for adapting novels into films is otherwise stellar. Guess this time he just bit off more than he could chew (when you have 45 minutes worth of deleted scenes you know something's wrong).

I'd been wanting to see this for years and have always believed Connelly to be a very underrated actress (at least in this pre-"Requium" time she was) I can't remember when I last felt a movie was so unworthy of it's performances. Well worth seeing for the stunning acting but don't expect anything more.

Maybe I'll live so long that I'll forget her. Maybe I'll die. Tryin'.

[–] jungles13 19 years ago

Yep it's an awesome movie!

Jennifer looks awesome - much better than the later skinny look.

[–] campskunk1 19 years ago

i am thick as a plank and cannot figure it out. is jennifer connelly really dead, or is it a setup to highlight the cause and she can't resurface because once she agreed to be a "martyr" she could never go back to her old life??

[–] guigui-paul 19 years ago

the ending is very open,and that's one of the beauty of this film!
in my opinion,the answer of this ambiguous ending is that Sarah was really dead...the ending is at the same time sad and optimistic (because Fielding resolves his breakdown)

[–] martin-secker 19 years ago

One of the few romance-type films to treat its audience like an adult. In my opinion, the ending is left open so that the viewer can make up their own mind concerning Sarah - trying to predict the meaning of the end determines what type of person the viewer is. Are you cynical, realistic, optimistic, romantic etc.

[–] moviecritic315-1 19 years ago

Good point.

[–] tinaozzy-1 19 years ago

Hello, it took me 5 months to get this movie and last night I finally did it.
I was little bit scared that it wouldnt be what I expected because I was looking for it for so long and had such a desire to see it, BUT the movie has touch me so deeply and ona seacial way that even now when Im writing these words my eyes are full of tears and my heart is trembling.

Someone one this forum wrote that this story is in every one of us. I agree!

Me, example, Im in love with a man that will never be mine. He feels the same for me. We love each other very much and just like Sarah and Fielding, it was love at first sight. While watching this movie I could see and feel big coincidence, it was like watching my life, my love with that man. And its not my imagination, this man that I love said it too.

There are days when Im going thru exactlly what Fielding was going thru. Sometimes, especially at night I have very vivid dreams about him, where Im talking to him, touching him, even feeling him. And in a day there are billion times when I get surrounded by memories and I found myself in a enchanted circle and than I can even feel his smell.

The strange and weird part of the movie is that Fielding is "looking" for Sarah in the snow and Im "looking" for my love in the rain drops.

Great movie and Im sure gonna see it again today.

As for what do I think is Sarah alive or not...it doesnt matter because person that we love will always leave in our hearts.

[–] Schu_Macca 18 years ago

I can't believe this only has a rating of 6.7, this is at least in my top 20 movies. Gorgeously made movie, keeps your attention subtly.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] anowrasteh 17 years ago

I gave it a low rating and I just finished watching it.

[–] capablecarl 17 years ago

This movie gave me a feeling of melancholy almost as if I had a hangover, only I didn't want it to go away. A very moving film, one that will stay with me forever...

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] gogogopher123 17 years ago

This film is so underrated. It looks at love, passion, politics, and obsession in such a real and untouched way. Every emotion is raw and on point. Billy Crudup shines in his role as Fielding. He did a fanatastic job. It was such a moving film, I was crying at the end. And the scene where I felt Billy Crudup shined the most was the dinner scene with his family at the election. It was so raw and emotional. You see Fielding at his most vulnerable; allowing himself to realize that he is truly losing his mind. This is a great film.

You have to be passionate about something in this world, or else, what is life for? -Anonymous

[–] guigui-paul 17 years ago

The film is on this list!!:

http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/lists/underappreciatedalpha.asp