Date: Fri 24-Apr-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHIRLE

Quick Words:

Ryan-Cage-Franz-Angels-Nicolas

Full Text:

NOW PLAYING: "City Of Angels" Misses Its Mark

By Trey Paul Alexander III

City of Angels isn't meant to be creepy, yet one can't help but be a little

spooked at the thought of an unseen, lovesick spirit standing by and staring

as you take a hot bath. The spirit in question is Seth (Nicolas Cage), an

angel who develops a fascination with a certain soul, a beautiful heart

surgeon named Maggie (Meg Ryan).

Sure, Cage and Ryan make a cute couple, and the premise of an angel struggling

over whether to give up his immortality for the pangs of unrequited love is

patently designed to tug on the heart strings (providing a good reason for the

film's recent hold on the No. 1 slot), but this new movie fails to give any

real sense of sacrifice or substance, just a surface treatment of what could

have been a truly intriguing flick.

City of Angels is based on Wim Wenders' acclaimed 1988 film, Wings of Desire.

It follows the exploits of Seth, who hangs out in Los Angeles with his friend

and fellow celestial being, Cassiel (Andre Braugher). Seth, Cassiel and their

heavenly host are unseen by human folk except when it's "that time" and they

arrive to escort the dearly departed to another place.

When Seth arrives at a city hospital to attend to a man who is dying on an

operating table, he is convinced he is momentarily seen by Maggie, the lead

surgeon, who begins to command his attention. Seth becomes so fascinated with

her that he decides to make himself visible and converses with her (though

never telling her his identity), trying to take away the sting she feels from

losing her patient. He is so enraptured by Maggie that it consumes him and he

despairs at the fact that he -- like all angels -- cannot touch her or be

touched. But when Seth encounters a man named Messinger (Dennis Franz) who

claims to have formerly been an angel but is now fully human (all you have to

do is "fall," he says), then Seth must make some difficult decisions.

City of Angels is beautifully shot by cinematographer John Seale, who won an

Oscar for his work on The English Patient , and does some nice things in

establishing the milieu of the angels. Unlike most Hollywood treatments of

angels, these beings are not depicted as former human souls, but specific

creations of God meant to be messengers for him. However, unlike the Biblical

account, which tells us angels are also worshipers of God and servants of the

saved, City of Angels often depicts them as individuals who, instead of

longing after God, crave the experiences and sensations of being human.

Initially this notion works, as the angels are cast in a role usually held by

aliens or androids in certain sci-fi flicks: they are esteemed as privileged

outsiders, giving them a unique vantage point from which to comment on the

human experience. Just as non-humans Mr Spock, the Terminator (in T2 ), Data

and the replicants of Blade Runner all seek perspective on what it means to be

human or flesh and blood, the spirits in City of Angels could have been

effective correspondents on the essence of humanity. Instead, Seth comes

across as rather hollow, like a stricken puppy dog slavishly following after

Maggie. He claims he loves her, but the film gives us little explanation why

(and, for that matter, the lady, Maggie, doth protest too little, as she

barely pauses before getting involved with this stranger).

City of Angels is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexuality, including some

brief nudity (Dennis Franz of "NYPD Blue" is at it again -- somebody stop

him... please!).