Word: fearlessly
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There's no God but there's you," gasps a bleary-eyed plane crash survivor to Max (Jeff Bridges), and sums up the dominant theme of Peter Weir's latest all-star release. Full of glitz, melodrama and unadulterated emotional manipulation, "Fearless" chronicles the psychological aftermath of a plane crash in the life of Max, a good-looking, successful and secretly tortured architect, and how the rest of the world hinges upon his mental wellbeing...
...film begins with Max emerging heroic and unharmed from a gory, chaotic crash site, suddenly convinced that he is beyond mortal concerns: fearless. He even informs God of this development: "You want to kill me but you can't." Feeling thus elevated, Max disengages from his former life, abusing his beautiful wife and son and flaunting various conventions of society. While Max gets his thrills from risking his life periodically and hanging out with other brush-with-death-survivor buddies, his devoted and one-dimensional wife (Isabella Rosellini) is apparently confined to the house, as well as to a limited...
...thankfully spare us from any romantic complications. Certain cliches must endure, however, and by the end of the movie Carla realizes that even Max needs help. The tables turn and she sends him back to his wife and family, whereupon Max almost dies and realizes that he's not fearless anymore...
Despite a decidedly cheesy plot-line, the production is no less than stunning. An ever-shifting pace, special effects, and raw intensity keep the film humming. "Fearless" highlights Max's fundamental isolation through silent, close-up slow-motion shots of him ponderously feeling his naked body and relishing strawberries, and loud, fast-paced cuts to the crash. The style and mood of each scene contrasts with the next, and the overall effect of this roller-coaster ride is admittedly intense. By the long, drawn-out ending, however, the audience is exhausted and out of sympathy for Max's long overdue...
Weir's earlier change-your-life movies includethe more successful "Green Card" and "Dead PoetsSociety." In "Fearless," though, the barage ofcinematic gimickry and Hollywood manufacturedemotion can't quite hide an insubstantial plot."Fearless" manages to tug at the heartstrings--for a while