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    		•

    FILMS

    Fearless (1993)
  • Starring Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, Rosie Perez, Tom Hulce, John Turturro, Benicio Del Toro, Deirdre O'Connell, John de Lancie

  • Directed by Peter Weir

    • Late one evening when there was not much to and no one around to do absolutely nothing with, I ventured out to the local video store. In high school I saw The Fisher King and immediately became a huge Jeff Bridges fan. In browsing through Blockbuster's isles I stumbled upon Fearless. I hadn't heard of its release in the theater. Presumably it had not done very well at the box office.

    Seeing as how I had nothing to do, and was game for watching a movie about which I'd heard little, I rented it.

    That was probably six years ago. Maybe seven. A few weeks ago, my wife and I were out shopping for DVDs and we saw this one. For under 10 bucks, no less. I wavered on whether I should buy it or not, as I couldn't completely trust my memory. It's not as reliable as I once thought it was. I had fond memories of the movie, but was that just because it offered stable entertainment on an evening when there was literary nothing better to do? Or was it really a good movie? I hadn't seen the film in a long time. I couldn't remember. Yet there was a part of me that knew some scenes from Fearless would stay with me for the rest of my life.

    Don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't standing in the DVD isle at Target digging deep into my soul, tearing myself apart in making the decision to toss ten bucks into the store's till. Not remotely that dramatic. I shrugged and figured, "What the hell?"

    And I'm glad I bought it.

    I wouldn't say that Fearless is powerful in the same way as Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter. If those are the heavyweights, then Fearless is the unknown middleweight who lies to get into the ring, and gives a good strong fight.

    Why am I talking about boxing? This movie has nothing to do with boxing, unless you want to illustrate via metaphor ... which I'm obviously not going to do, because frankly, it's just getting confusing.

    Fearless is about a near-death experience, the crippling pain of loss, and the unbearable burden of guilt for those who survive.

    (Fair spoiler warning: I'll be talking plot in a bit, and you may not want to continue on if you haven't seen the movie.)

    Max Klein (Bridges) survives an airplane crash. He walks out of the burning wreckage, virtually unscathed. Somehow he survived, finding a safe hole in the burning fuselage, saving dozens of lives. Afterwards he is feels that God wants to kill him, but for some reason He can't. Max soon discovers that he's unable to live his former life; he needs the thrill and rush of danger—but not in a psychotic, Russian Roulette sort of way.

    He eats strawberries that, because of a several allergic reaction, should land him in the emergency room. But now, post-crash, they have no effect on him. Max stands on the edge of skyscrapers, completely at ease. He's already made his peace with death, so falling would have little or no impact upon him. (Sorry, no pun intended.) You can't take from the man who has nothing. Max walks across busy intersections without looking. In being so close to death, Max has learned to appreciate life so much more than he ever had—yet he's losing the connection to those who are living, those who love him.

    Carla (Perez) was on the plane, too. She survived but has been paralyzed by the grief of losing her baby in the crash. The seatbelts were too big, and the flight attendant told Carla to hold her baby. She blames herself for not holding tight enough. What she doesn't realize is that it's just physics; nobody could retain their grip on a 20-pound baby under the impact conditions. Max is brought to her by a psychiatrist (Turturro) who hopes that, in putting these two together, they might help one another recover from the emotional trauma they've endured.

    Bridges, as always, is outstanding. Usually Rosie Perez's voice grates on my nerves. Her voice leaps directly from my television speakers through the air, bypasses my skull and eardrums, and resonates directly in my brain. Annoying like a sliver. Usually, I see her and all I can think of is her role in White Men Can't Jump, "Oh Bee-lee, you so thupit." But not in Fearless. She surprised the hell out of me. Dramatic, tender, yet in the end, quite strong.

    The cast of secondary and tertiary actors are surprising too: Isabella Rossellini, Tom Hulce ("Pinto" from Animal House, lead role in Amadeus), John Turturro, Benicio Del Toro, John de Lancie ("Q" from Star Trek). They all do a good job. Some better than others, but on the whole, good.

    Obviously, death is something that we all have to deal with at one time or another. I've had more than my fair share of dealings with the loss of those dear to me. And I pray that it'll be a long time before I have to go through that type of hell again. While this isn't a movie that teaches grief management (Ugh, did I just write that? That sounds awfully clinical, like a corporate management seminar!) it portrays the feelings with real emotion, without going over-the-top into the realm of cliché.

    And maybe that's why Fearless didn't do so well in the theater, and why no one talks about it as a classic. Maybe it's because it does feel real, or true, and wasn't Hollywood-ized or bastardized or -ized in any other such way.

    Or maybe this was just a small, personal film that hit the right chords for me; that in it, I saw things I've felt before. I suppose that someone else who's had very little experience with death and loss would see this film as overly dramatic and manipulative.

    Either way, I believe it's still a fantastic movie to watch on a quiet night when you've got nowhere to go.