Fearless is a 1993 American drama film directed by Peter Weir and starring Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, Rosie Perez and John Turturro. It was written by Rafael Yglesias from his novel of the same name.
Rosie Perez was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Carla Rodrigo. The film also entered into the 44th Berlin International Film Festival. Jeff Bridges's role as Max Klein is widely regarded as one of the best performances of his career. The film's soundtrack features part of the first movement of Symphony Henryk GÃÆ'³recki No. 3, subtitle Symphony of Sorrowful Songs . The screenwriter of this film was inspired to write the script after he had a car accident. Yglesias began writing stories after reading about United Airlines Flight 232, which crashed in Sioux City, Iowa in 1989.
Video Fearless (1993 film)
Plot
While traveling on business, architect Max Klein (Jeff Bridges) survived the fall of a flight that leads from San Francisco to Houston. When the plane descends, Max mysteriously becomes peaceful when he accepts that he will die. The revelations inspired him to entertain many frightened passengers, even moving to sit next to Byron Hummel (Daniel Cerny), a boy flying alone. The psychological trauma of that experience changes Max's personality and he enters a state of changed awareness, rethinks his life and becomes preoccupied with the eternal meaning and existential questions of life and death itself. Max's reaction to this resurrection itself questions the reality of what is real and unreal and what his mind feels as real through its interaction with others and the opportunity to live again in everyday life.
Immediately after the accident, Max, one of several survivors, hired a car and drove from the crash site in Bakersfield to Los Angeles, stopping on the road to visit his high school lover Alison (Debra Monk), whom he had seen in 20 year. During their meal at the restaurant, Alison sees Max eating strawberries and asks about her allergies to them. Max grinned and explained that he had "made it through" an allergic reaction and somehow, confidently finished it with no problem. She was tracked in a hotel room the next morning by F.B.I. an agent who questioned the odd choice of not contacting his wife and family or staying at the crash site with other victims. The airline sent a representative compensating him with a train ticket to return to San Francisco. Max refused the ticket, stating firmly that he wanted to fly home and no longer afraid of air travel. In the flight, he met Dr. Bill Perlman (John Turturro), a contracted psychiatrist by an airline that offers assistance to Max for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dr. Perlman accompanies Max back to his home where his wife, Laura (Isabella Rossellini) begins to realize her strange behavior. Max firmly tells Nan Gordon (Deirdre O'Connell), wife of friends and business associates, that her husband Jeff (John de Lancie) died in the accident. The media proclaimed Max "The Good Samaritan" and tried to interview him when Byron came to thank him openly for the way he entertained the passengers during the accident, but Max avoided making any statements. Over time Max gets away from Laura and his son Jonah (Spencer Vrooman) because of his busy life with near-death experience. He began drawing abstract images of the collision and the feeling of a hole in the sky in front of him. He came to regard himself as immune to death that caused Dr. Perlman became concerned that Max was delusional. Perlman encourages Max to meet another victim, Carla Rodrigo (Rosie Perez), in the hope that the two can support each other. Carla, who lost her baby boy in the accident, wrestled with the guilt of the survivor, punished herself for not holding her close enough when her seat belt was broken. Max and Carla bind and develop close friendships as he helps her to pass through her depression and free herself from her guilt.
Max, Laura and Nan met with lawyer Steven Brillstein (Tom Hulce), who encouraged Max to exaggerate his testimony to increase Nan's compensation settlement offer from the airline. Max expressed his discomfort by lying but reluctantly agreed when he considered Nan's financial difficulties as a widow. The inconvenience of lying caused Max to have a panic attack and he ran out of the office to the roof of the building where he climbed to the ledge. As Max stood on the ledge, looking down the street, his panic attack subsided and he rejoiced in his courage. Laura follows Max to the roof and after finding him, blindly spinning on the ledge with his coat puffing up his face, he believes he will kill himself.
Finally, Max's increasingly dramatic effort (culminating in a deliberate car crash into a brick wall) by pushing the boundary between life and death had shaken Carla from her uncertain state. After that, Carla meets with Laura and both clarify the misconception that she and Max have gone through a state of dependence and actually, love each other. In addition, Carla explains that she thinks of Max as she sees herself - angels - and Laura now understands their fantasies. However, after Carla reluctantly shared the company with Max, she remained deep in relation to her wife and son, struggling to achieve its legitimacy. One night, Brillstein arrives at Klein's house to celebrate a delayed settlement offer, and brings a basket with a variety of fruits. Max ate one of the strawberries but, unlike in the restaurant, this time he experienced an immediate allergic reaction and suffocated. As he choked, Max entered into a state of vision where he saw flashbacks and started toward the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel (in the disguised alley in the plane) when Laura's voice was heard repeatedly "calling him back" to the world. Max accepted the reality of his imminent death when suddenly he was awakened by Laura. He persevered and (it implied) restoring his emotional connection with his family, to the world and the reality of other opportunities in life.
Maps Fearless (1993 film)
Cast
- Jeff Bridges as Max Klein
- Isabella Rossellini as Laura Klein
- Rosie Perez as Carla Rodrigo
- Tom Hulce as Brillstein
- John Turturro as Dr. Bill Perlman
- Benicio del Toro as Manny Rodrigo
- Deirdre O'Connell as Nan Gordon
- John de Lancie as Jeff Gordon
- Debra Monk as Alison
- William Newman as the Elderly Man
Aesthetic elements
A book containing The Ascent into the Empyrean by Hieronymus Bosch is shown, and it is said that the dying man enters the light of heaven "naked and alone". Approaching the final when Max is lying on the ground, he relives to move from the fuselage and momentarily moves toward the tunnel of light that looks to imitate the painting.
Reception
The film was positively received by critics as Rotten Tomatoes reviewers evaluated that 86% of critics have given positive review films, based on 35 reviews, with an average score of 7.8/10. Consensus states "This underrated gem from director Peter Weir showcases the outstanding performance of Jeff Bridges as a man who deals with deep sorrow. "
Home media
With video and audio quality replacing previous home video releases, Fearless was released on Blu-ray Disc by Warner Archive Collection in November 2013.
References
External links
- Without fear on IMDb
- Without Fear in the TCM Movie Database
- Without fear in Rotten Tomatoes
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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