User reviews

Films like this, where the main character survives a plane crash, reveal more of how unprepared a hunter gatherer mind is to the trauma of the modern world, let alone after a traumatic event. When the fight or flight mechanism is unable to function, when there's nowhere to run and nothing can be done, the stress and anguish experienced must be one of the most painful emotions a human mind can experience. We also get another perspective, perhaps one more recognisable, through the helplessness of losing a loved one, a young child, in the same tragedy, completely unprepared and instant.

Yet we continue to push, push, push, backing ourselves into metaphorical corners with no means to escape or defend ourselves. This is deep introspective film making, as relevant as ever, with great performances from some truly great actors.

Peter Weir is unique in his ability to convey the niceties of life with authenticity. Jeff Bridges is the master of the theatrical understatement. A plane crash creates a untenable level of fear in the mind anyone who has stood next to one and pondered that fate.Henryk Gorecki's Symphony No 3 creates an overwhelming sense of sadness. Fearless benefits from all these things, as well as a strong supporting cast.

I cannot watch this movie without being buffeted emotionally. I know many film lovers prefer a more concrete plot and less tugging at the heartstrings. They should turn to a different page now.

Fearless is a gem for anyone else.

I hasten to add America, the Peter Weir was only on loan, and we want him back in Australia.

This movie definitely has flaws- the major one being that there are points when the story does not seem to be heading in any particular direction- but excellent acting, some intensely profound and uncommonly well thought out character psychology (especially for a Hollywood film)and the scariest/loveliest air plane crash ever dramatized makes this movie worth seeing. Stars for the filming and scoring of the film too, especially during the car crash sequence and the opening corn field/plane wreck sequence.

Jeff Bridges has been called the most underrated actor of his generation, and 'Fearless' speaks to the truth of such a claim. Equally overlooked is Australian director Peter Weir, who, like Bridges, was snubbed by the Academy Awards for 'Fearless.' The film was almost totally ignored by the Academy, perhaps due to the fact that 1994 was the year of the historical/political epic--'Schindler's List,' 'In the Name of the Father,' and 'The Remains of the Day' were the big winners that year, casting a bit of a shadow over a film about a rich white American suffering from PTSD.

Based on the novel by Rafael Yglesias, 'Fearless' is the story of Max Klein, a successful San Francisco architect who survives a horrific plane crash. Among the casualties of the crash are Klein's partner and best friend and the only child of Carla (Rosie Perez), a young Puerto Rican woman from Oakland who blames herself for her son's death. Prior to the accident Max suffered from an acute fear of flying; when the plane goes down, his fear becomes so intense that he accepts death. When he survives the crash, he suffers from a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome in which he can no longer feel fear because subconsciously he has already faced death. His condition creates a rift between himself and his family, a gap he tries to fill through a friendship with Carla, who is similarly afflicted with PTSD.

Bridges gives a tour de force performance as Max, who is simultaneously heroic (he leads other passengers to safety believing he is guiding them out of the plane into heaven) and contemptible (he is unspeakably cruel to his family and leaves his wife temporarily to pursue a relationship with Carla).

He's not sure whether he's alive or dead, and he is frequently drawn to test his fear and uncertainty through ludicrously dangerous stunts like dancing on the edge of a skyscraper's roof or walking calmly into speeding traffic. It's an unflinching and emotionally honest portrayal of a psychologically damaged man unsure that he has the strength or will to be healed.

Equally stunning is Rosie Perez as Carla, a devout Catholic who believes that her baby's death is a punishment from God and is nursed back to normalcy by the agnostic Max.

Other supporting actors are also captivating: Isabella Rosselini as Max's wife Laura, who loves her husband desperately but is unable to cope with Max's alienation from her and their son Jonah; Tom Hulce as an overeager but well-meaning attorney suing the airline on behalf of Max, his partner's family, and Carla; John Turturro as a psychiatrist specializing in PTSD hired by the airline to help the survivors cope with the after-effects of the tragedy; and Benicio Del Toro as Carla's husband, a poor carpenter who can't help but feel giddy about the possibility of making millions off of his son's death. Perhaps most moving is Deirdre O'Connell as the widow of Max's partner--the scene in which Max arrives at her home to confirm that her husband did not survive the crash will break the hardest of hearts.

The film is brilliantly directed by Weir, who captures the surreal nature of Max's condition masterfully.

'Fearless' is not an easy film to get through, perhaps even moreso in the wake of 9/11. The subject matter is emotionally wrenching, and its presentation is utterly unsentimental. Max is heroic, but he is also a victim, and Bridges' performance captures the tension between Max's newfound love of life and his near-psychotic need to continually face and overcome his fears. It's a tear-jerker, and it's certainly haunted by the ghosts of the dead, but it's well-worth watching if only for the pleasure of seeing one of the best actors in the business at his best.

*****SPOILERS***** Max Kline, Jeff Bridges, not only survived a deadly plane crash that cost the lives of some 200 passengers he also saved about a dozen people from that burning inferno. Max becomes a hero in the eyes of those that he saved as well as the news media. Max for some strange reason seemed to walk away from it all as if nothing happened which to many,including the FBI, seemed weird and strange. The airline sends a trauma expert Dr. Pearlman ,John Turturro, to examine Max as well as the other survivors to see if their all right and if not what treatment they would need.

The movie "Fearless" concentrates on two survivors and one wife of a survivor who are in some way connected to each other. Because of the tragedy. Max's friend and architect partner Jeff Gordon, John DeLancie, was killed in the crash and left a wife Nan, Deirdre O'Connell, with two little children. Jeff greedily switched the tickets that Max gave him for the flight for cheaper ones that didn't have life insurance to cover himself. Carla Rodrigo, Rosie Perez, who also survived the crash, thanks to Max, lost her little boy when he fell out of her hands and was killed. This made Carla fall into a deep depression by holding herself responsible for his death.

Max's change of life after the crash comes into conflict in dealing with the realities of both Carla and Nan as well as his wife Laura, Isabella Rosselini, in getting his life back to normal. Max soon develops a fearless attitude toward death and during the movie risks his life as if he were tempting death to see somehow that if he's really dead or not. Carla is the only one who seems to bring Max back to the real world with her depression over her sons death in the crash. That makes Max go out of his way to show her that she wasn't responsible. Having Carla her sit in his car one evening and having Carla hold a tool box, as if it were her baby boy, Max then crash the car full-force into a brick wall! This was to show her that she couldn't have held on to her child to save him from the plane crash: a bit insane but it worked in curing Carla of her severe guilt feelings.

The car crash also settled Max's not wanting to lie about Jeff's death. Jeff's lawyer Brillstein, Tom Hulce,wanted Max to lie about the circumstances of Jeff's death to get a bigger settlement. Now Max doesn't have to testify by showing that he became suicidal because of the plane crash and thus lost control of his mental faculties.

It was shown in the movie, after Max survived the plane crash, that everything that Max did he seemed to be guided by some invisible force. Like the one which had Max lead those survivors of the plane crash to safety. This unseen force made those who thought that Max was a bit strange and odd see that he was in some way a changed but better person because of it.

The end of the film seemed a bit confusing but thinking about everything else in the movie that lead up to it did somehow make sense. Max, with his wife present, picks up a strawberry from Nan's lawyers batch of gifts that he had and munches on it which seems to poison and kill him. It was explained early in the movie that Max had a deadly allergic reaction to strawberries since he was a child. With everyone thinking that he's dead Max miraculously comes back to life with his wife happily holding and kissing him.

We've seen earlier in the movie Max eating strawberries, again tempting death, with nothing happening to him! So why then should anything like him possibly dying from eating the strawberries happen to him now when it didn't happen before in the movie? Was it that strange force or was it Max himself in getting him and his wife Laura back together since their strained marriage, due to Max's relationship with Carla after the plane crash, which had him and his wife on the verge of separating and divorcing! Deep and interesting movie about how facing death in the present and surviving changes us for the better in facing life in the future.

After watching FEARLESS I clearly made up my mind about actor Jeff Bridges; he is utterly brilliant. This film is carried by his performance as a man who survives a plane crash and his the following life he lives in which his complete sense of existence is changed. The film finds mystery and tragedy and goes searching in religious places for answers that we draw out of the main character. Director Peter Weir lingers on Bridges and his inner self, and the many tender scenes that he goes through are very carefully achieved, never slipping into sentiment or boring clichés. Throughout you really don't know whether Bridges is crazy, spiritual, dead or alive - he's yearning in something that everybody around him really don't see to understand. FEARLESS is a great film with many low-key scenes that tells a story thoroughly and thoughtfully, but it always escalates into joyous wonder, and that's where director Weir and Bridges truly captured me as a viewer. It's like that dark corridor towards the light in the magnificent ending scene.

The inability to `reconnect' in the wake of a significant emotional event, especially one involving a close encounter with death, is examined by director Peter Weir, in `Fearless,' a gripping drama starring Jeff Bridges as a man emotionally adrift after walking away from an accident (a plane crash) that by all rights should have killed him, but inexplicably did not. And Weir goes on to take what is essentially a character study one step further, beyond the inevitable `why me?' that one who survives such an unimaginable episode in their life must necessarily make, to probe the psyche of the survivor and attempt to sort out the ensuing catch-22 of the mind, wherein the incident has manifested a schizophrenic sense of guilt/euphoria born of fate's decree that he, among those now dead, should live. It's a lot to assimilate; a taxing physical and psychological challenge necessitating an expanded utilization of the human capacity, and the subsequent negotiation of the attendant recast attitude and aptitude. All of which Weir succinctly captures through keen observation and his own intuitive grasp of the human condition.

As the film opens, we see Max Klein (Bridges) making his way through a cornfield just outside of Bakersfield, California; he's carrying a baby in his arms and has a young boy by the hand, leading him determinedly through the haze of smoke from the crash. There are others following Max, as well. And even before they emerge from the field, coming upon the crash site where rescue workers are already furiously attempting to sort it all out, there is a detachment about Max that is readily discernible. He surveys the situation calmly, as if seeing it all through the eyes of someone else, as if he were outside of himself, observing rather than experiencing. Then after locating the baby's mother, he simply walks away from it all, never looking back.

Two days later the F.B.I. finds him in a local motel. They put him together with a representative from the airline, who offers him a train ticket back home to San Francisco. But Max wants to fly home, which astounds the rep. `But your wife,' she says, `Told us that you didn't like to fly, even before the--' `The crash?' he replies. Then with assurance he tells her, `I want to fly home on your airline. But I have a request; I want to go first class.' And we know now, without question, that Max is not the same man that he was before the crash.

In his previous films, such as `Picnic At Hanging Rock' (1975), `Witness' (1985) and `The Mosquito Coast' (1986), Weir established himself as a director who knows human nature and is adept at exploring the emotional depths of his characters, in stories dealing with ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. As he does with this film, Weir sets a deliberate pace and allows that extra moment that means so much to the development of the characters. It's a subtle approach that adds depth and resonance to his films, and allows his audience to experience, rather than just watch, the drama as it unfolds. And he understands (as few directors do-- especially Americans ) the impact that `silence' can have, as in the scenes here shortly after Max leaves the crash sight. First, Weir shows us a solemn Max, driving alone through the desert at high speed, gradually awakening to the joys of living, to that `feeling' of being alive, as he sticks his head out of the widow and lets the wind hit him in the face, slapping him with the reality that he is, indeed, alive. But then we see Max parked by the side of the road, sitting on the ground, pensively staring out at the vast expanse of desert and at the low, blue mountains in the distance. The absolute silence Weir effects allows us to share Max's thoughts at that moment, to get inside his head as he picks up a bit of dirt and examines it closely, then as he looks up again at the nothingness/everything that surrounds him. As Max reflects, we reflect with him; and in that precise moment, that necessary connection between Max and the audience is firmly established. It's a quiet, and brilliant, piece of filmmaking.

Through many years and many movies, Jeff Bridges has demonstrated time and again his consummate ability as an actor who can `touch' his audience, and he continues to evolve with every new film. Max is perhaps his most challenging role ever, as it requires a vast emotional range to make this character convincing and bring him to life believably. And Bridges succeeds magnificently, and on a number of levels, with an inspiring, Oscar worthy performance. The finesse with which he conveys his moods and emotions is extraordinary; he enables you to `feel' his displacement, share his compassion, sense his empathy and know his anger. Quite simply, Bridges makes Max Klein a character you are not going to forget.

As Laura Klein, Isabella Rossellini gives a remarkable performance, as well, as the wife given the gift of her husband's life, only to have to suffer his state of `limbo,' as she desperately attempts to penetrate the defense mechanisms that have given him a renewed appreciation for the touch, taste and beauty of life, all of which she is unable to share because his experience has taken him to a place she cannot possibly go. Her portrayal is astute, convincing and some of the best work she has ever done.

Also turning in a strong performance, for which she deservedly was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, is Rosie Perez, as Carla, a fellow crash survivor with whom Max forms an especially strong and significant bond.

Written for the screen by Rafael Yglesias (adapted from his own novel), beautifully filmed by Allen Davian, and with a haunting score by Maurice Jarre that so sensitively enhances the drama in an understated way, `Fearless' is an example of filmmaking at it's best.

What happens after one dies?

"Fearless" tries to answer that question through its raw emotions, showing a survivor of a terrible plane crash who becomes truly and utterly fearless. Max, the survivor, reaches some type of spiritual nirvana when facing death directly, and is reborn in a way. However, he feels as if he's already dead, and he sees the rest of the survivors in the same way. This makes for an interesting character study, exploring what happens when one embraces fully both fear and death. Jeff Bridges has by far the best performance in the film, and showed much of the needed emotion to keep the movie afloat. The rest of the cast did a decent job (though I didn't like the child actors), and Tom Hulce was great in his little part as a greedy lawyer.

However, I felt the movie lacked some focus at some parts. The beginning was great, and so was the end. In the middle, I felt some ups and downs, and some scenes fell flat in contrast to some of the better scenes in the film. After the beginning, the film constantly flashed religious themes without much subtlety, but those stopped after the middle of the movie. The relationship between Max and Carla, another survivor, was interesting enough - but I didn't feel the actress playing Carla did the best job she could. The psychiatrist was rather superfluous to the story, and Max's wife was rather ignored in the first half of the film and didn't get enough depth afterwards in my opinion. The directing was interesting at times and unnoticeable in others, but it was overall solid. I think the script has the biggest issues of the movie - some of the lines were hideous in my opinion, and the plot itself felt a tad not fully organized.

To sum up, even though I found the film good, there were too many flaws in it which kept taking me out of the movie. The ongoing themes of Christianity felt rather annoying and preachy, some characters didn't contribute much to the emotional depth of the film, and some of the dialogues felt extremely fake to me. An interesting viewing, but I felt some aspects could have been handled better.

When I first saw "Fearless" in a movie theater, I believe there were about 20 to 30 other moviegoers in the theater on a weekday afternoon. It was in it's second week in theaters. After the credits rolled, I heard a lot of weeping from the small but vocal audience.

Maybe the film flopped because some people expected a 1970's-style disaster flick with cardboard characters, laughable dialog and unknown extras & doubles performing dangerous stunts.

It's been almost eight years since watching "Fearless" for the first time. This is one of only 5 movies I actually own in my very small tape library.

Director Peter Weir amazes me. With a few exceptions (I didn't like "Dead Poets Society" and I haven't seen "Green Card"), he has always walked on a tightrope when it comes to telling a story. It might not result in a "satisfying" ending but when you think about what was presented two hours earlier, it makes a lot of sense. It's a logical and very fascinating progression.

I believe that Jeff Bridges can (almost) do no wrong. His character may not be very likable but put yourself in his character's shoes and you may understand the reasons why he believes that he is "fearless".

I haven't seen Isabella Rossellini's performance in "Blue Velvet" but it makes me wonder if her performance in that film beats her role as the caring but very confused wife of Jeff Bridges' character. She's definitely the heart of "Fearless". I cared for her. I felt empathy; her confusion of what her husband was doing to himself, her family and herself. She's on the outside trying her best to understand what it was like to survive a plane crash. But at the same time, not totally understanding what it was like to be on the ill-fated flight. Rossellini gave a glowing performance.

Rosie Perez's performance as the distraught woman who lost her young son in the crash was incredible. Unlike some people in this world, I do like Perez (thick Spanish accent and all). What really impressed me was how she captured the depth of losing her child. There have been some films & TV movies that have captured the effects of a family losing a spouse or adult child. There haven't been as many to deal with the loss of a child as well as "Fearless" did. Perez hasn't had a role with this much depth in a long time. I was pleasantly surprised when she received an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actress, the movie's only nomination.

The unrequited bond between Bridges' and Perez's characters was fascinating to watch. They survived something that their love ones will never understand. In the end, the two need to understand that despite their losses, they are still alive in this world and somehow they need to find a way to get back to reality.

Screenwriter Rafael Yglesias, who wrote the novel, captured the complexity of crash survivors almost flawlessly. One weak link: John Turturro had the thankless job of playing the underwritten role of the psychiatrist.

When a film like "Fearless" even inspires a music video (Brian McKnight's "Back At One"), then you know that this movie will have a lasting effect and with cable, VHS & DVD, it'll never be forgotten. I certainly haven't forgotten it.

Director Peter Weir gets an exceptionally solid performance out of usually-hammy Jeff Bridges, here playing survivor of a horrific plane crash who feels that, since he has now cheated his death, he may be immune to all dangers. Many emotional sequences following the disaster give the picture its heart, but the final chapter brings us back to reality with too mighty a pull; how satisfying the movie ultimately is will depend on whether viewers can forgive the underlying feeling of manipulation. Still, it's startlingly straightforward and directed with passion by Weir. Terrific supporting performances by Isabella Rossellini as Bridges' exceptionally patient and understanding spouse and Rosie Perez, successfully underplaying as a fellow crash survivor having troubles of her own. *** from ****

Someone told me once that this film was supposed to be about post-traumatic stress syndrome. That's like saying that 2001 was about how to eat in space.

This is a movie about the most intimate moment a person can ever share with others: The moment of his death. The character Max (played by Bridges) is confronted with it, and his experience is ours.

This movie, for me, is best viewed alone, with no distractions whatsoever. One of the more powerful sublime moments in the film for me is when Max is merely sitting next to his rental car in the desert, making mud from his own spit. He sees it in a new way. And thus he sees the world. To a degree, so did I.

Other reviews I have read here do a great job of summarizing the plot and key elements of this film. I just want to reiterate, first, how incredible the cast is. Working in a plot that demands attention to and awareness of subtleties, *every* actor, on down to the smallest part, puts forth flawless performances, and are directed brilliantly. If I was John Turturro, I'd have calmed it down a little, but if he did that, he wouldn't be John Turturro. :)

Isabella Rossellini is given the strongest role of her career (I mean, in *Blue Velvet*, she was scorching and daring, but she was played as a bit of an archetype and dream figure, and not as a woman struggling through a life crisis in quite so identifiable a way). Rather than fall prey to playing her role as an insensitive wife who doesn't understand the extraordinary passage her husband is undergoing, she is given the chance to really be a hero in her own right. She could *never* understand--but she tries to--and gives extraordinary credibility in a role of struggling to give what she can as Jeff Bridges' Max Klein hurtles himself into his obsessive self-made universe from his ordeal and survival. When it's clear she can no longer do that, she becomes a noble warrior to fight for her own sanity and that of her son. The procession of her character is flawless and every moment feels right.

The interplay between Rossellini and Rosie Perez is played out with unexpected honesty, restraint and brilliance. Perez' Carla has her own parallel situation, with a husband who completely can't understand why she won't exploit the situation for all she can get in court (a great early small performance from Benecio Del Torro). He is, like Rossellini, troubled by the bizarre and nonobvious intimacy that has developed between his wife and Jeff Bridges, two people whose lives might never have ordinarily crossed. Perez is, as has been mentioned elsewhere here, devastating. Her grief over the loss of her son is sustained and utterly utterly credible.

This brings us to Jeff Bridges. Man, oh man, this is his career masterpiece performance--arguably the greatest leading acting role of the 1990's. He *gets* what writer Rafael Yglesias and Peter Weir are narrowly aiming for here, and it's something no other movie has approached that I've seen. It is--the instantaneous and seemingly lifelong bond that develops between those who have been through a life-changing crisis, and how that can completely absorb them to the exclusion of *everything* else in their lives. What sounds like a subtle point here is **nailed** by Yglesias and Weir, and I can't imagine another actor who could have gotten what that feels like. I know from personal experience--mine was nothing like a plane crash--but the phenomenon that this movie ventures to explore that I just described, which may seem like mostly bizarre behavior shifts in Bridges' character to those who haven't experienced what I'm talking about--is in fact as real as love, fear, or passion itself. What Bridges realizes in putting together Max Klein is that he's *utterly* lucid--he feels as though he sees things as clearly as he ever has in his life and *never* wants to let that clarity go to revert to a more "rational" way to confront the trauma he has gone through.

Others have mentioned the "why didn't this get bigger press" issue. The studio was quite nervous that this was an art house movie and didn't promote it as heavily as they might have. It actually did quite well at the box office initially and early advocacy for Bridges and Weir to get Oscars were definitely out in the review stream, but this had the misfortune of being released *just* before a little movie called *Schindler's List*, which summarily grabbed the cinematic spotlight and completely eclipsed everything else at the Oscars.

Director Peter Weir himself considers this his greatest work and was greatly stung by what he considered the slight it was given by Hollywood and the public. In many ways it has shaped a cynicism towards Hollywood he has had ever since, and it would be five years before he'd find it in himself to direct another film.

If the ending works, everything is forgiven; "Fearless" exemplifies this truism.... Was it not for the ending and a few other worthwhile scenes in the first part of the movie, this film would be quite forgettable.

It is the kind of film that has good moments, but a script whose structure fails to engage dramatic conflict.

As Jeff Bridges maneuvers his way through the muddy screenplay, which is sometimes pseudo-theological and other times - owing to Weir's direction - a truthful rendition of fatal events, he has moments of underplayed sublimity and downplayed 'show it don't tell it-grace... Viewing Bridges' performance, notwithstanding the poor script, he does an excellent job - but unfortunately because such a large portion of the script is inconsistent, the final effect nevertheless is unsatisfactory.

Not Weir's best film... But there are glimpses of characteristic master-Weir in here... To truly enjoy this film, one should re-edit it, so as to only be presented with those moments which are faithful to the trauma that the film seeks to depict, but only succesfully renders in 1/3 of its runtime.

Best moments I rank 9/10 (1/4 of the film) Poor moments I rank 2/10 (3/4 of the film) Hence, a final rating of 7/10.

I watched this and "Mulholland Drive" back-to-back. (I rated them both a '6') Both Lynch and Weir are directors who know how to build moods; and this asset might be more important than any one thing you see onscreen. "Fearless" is certainly the more 'linear' film of the two, but both aim to get the viewer in their gut rather than with standout scenes.

A lot of the time "Fearless" succeeds in this intention, but ironically it might just be the undoing of the film as well. You could say it's like directing transposed to a poker game, and a lot of the time I found myself thinking: "Am I being shown a hand when I THINK I am, or is it just a bluff?" It's smoke and mirrors, details are revealed at odd moments but never without purpose. It's sometimes comforting not to have to doubt at any time that the director is in control; but it's a competence that could ultimately hurt the film; the core of it embracing so totally as it does the concept of 'abandon'.

Two characters in the film bond through their shared notion of something 'cosmic' that alienates the outsiders around them. Peter Weir is so confident with his material though, that it becomes almost like a gang of three. The character 'couple' know what they're doing/where they're going, and so does the director, but an audience member not attuned to such ethereal moments might feel stranded at times. It's almost like the story will only really 'connect' if you've lived through it YOURSELF, rather than offering much insight from a 'distanced' perspective. This is compounded by our never being told more than we NEED to know about Max. This approach may have worked for some people, but I can't say it really did for me...

A definite 'plus' regarding this route comes from the role of Jeff Bridges. Ever the interesting performer whatever the circumstances, he's permitted to be fascinatingly enigmatic here, and this only serves to make his work all the more hypnotic. Jarringly disrupting this, though, is Rosie Perez. She undermines yet another film via her grating vocals alone, although excepting this she's certainly dramatically adequate. This role, unlike "White Men Can't Jump", doesn't need someone whose permanent setting is 'shrill', and that subtracts from the moments where otherwise she's doing good work.

Max's initial unwavering confidence and insensitivity to his wife at times does this to the film as a WHOLE, too; isolating people when perhaps I would have felt better had he been an emissary spreading the good word. Hell, it worked fine in movies like "Phenomenon" for one; and THAT was with a director and material that were substantially less accomplished than this project sports. 'Engaging' though it was, I'm more inclined to think of this as a missed opportunity, then, as far as I'm concerned...

This film is an interesting character study of a man dealing with fear and death.

I watched it because I'm a big fan of Jeff Bridges work as "The Dude" in The Big Lebowski but I was a bit letdown. Here's why:

The movie did not deliver enough entertainment value. Thought provoking it was but entertaining- questionable.

Also, the way the movie handled its core issues and themes seemed a little heavy handed to me.

The old chestnut about script writing that the dialogue should never be totally "on the nose" was not adhered to, in this case to the film's detriment. I found some of the dialogue to be too direct and not leaving enough room for subtext and for the viewer to feel that there is something bubbling beneath the surface. Its always better for the writer to sketch the character's struggles as metaphors and incidental to the story rather than try to force themes to lead the story and drive its dialogue.

Additionally, the Director's use of camera shots was a little slow. The style of, "Look at me, here is another important closeup on some random object for longer than we would like," coupled with the writing served to make the movie a bit melodramatic.

Aside from Jeff Bridges who does a solid job in a decent role, Benicio Del Toro was very interesting in his minor role as was John Torturro.

You will see a lot of rave reviews for Fearless largely because it has a small cult following who were emotionally impacted by it. As a regular viewer with no special connection to the film, I advise you to take these reviews with a grain of salt. They are biased.

This is not a flawless film. It is merely an interesting one with a couple good actors. Definitely Not a must see. I also wasn't crazy about Rosie Perez. Her acting was one note, loud and amateurish rather than nuanced and intelligent.

A CRIMINALLY unknown film, especially in the UK, where it is close to impossible to get hold of, this Peter Weir outing, with Jeff Bridges taking the lead, also boasts star turns from John Turturro, Isabella Rossalini, and Rosie Perez, the latter of whom received an Oscar nomination. Everybody is on top form in this perfectly executed, beautiful meditation on what it is to be a human being.

To explain all the subtext of "Fearless", all the symbolism, the various layers of allegory, would be an essay in itself; safe to say this is a film that sends you away reeling, thinking and talking about life for a long time. It sounds melodramatic, but when you see it, it makes perfect, serious sense.

I understand it received standing ovations when it premiered, and rightly so! Many have said in the past, and I'll say it as well, that the final 10 minutes of this film is pretty much the most powerful cinema I've seen. Jeff Bridges nails it, and I find myself inexplicably in tears each time. Trying to explain it is tough; it speaks to something fundamental in you, and is truly life-affirming, if you choose to listen. A film that proves cinema, when image, performance, music and meaning are meshed perfectly, is sometimes able to convey what nothing else can.

Max Klein (Jeff Bridges) survives a plane crash and emerges a changed man. He reunites a baby with the mother and walks away from the crash. He drives off to drop in on long lost friend. He feels invincible and eats strawberries while being deadly allergic. When the FBI finds him, he insists on flying back to San Francisco. Everybody is overjoyed. However he is distant from his wife Laura (Isabella Rossellini) and son Jonah. His business partner Jeff Gordon (John de Lancie) was killed in the crash. Lawyer Brillstein (Tom Hulce) wants him to exaggerate for Jeff's wife Nan (Deirdre O'Connell)'s settlement. Airline therapist Dr. Bill Perlman (John Turturro) is working with the survivors. Max becomes a media hero. Unable to cope, Perlman connects him to grief stricken survivor Carla Rodrigo (Rosie Perez) and her callous husband Manny (Benicio Del Toro) after the death of her baby in the crash.

I like the idea and I find the first act rather fascinating. Walking away from the crash is such a great opening. However I got a bit tired of Jeff Bridges' zen master performance and I found his character rather annoying. I want to find some insight or some revelation. Instead, he's a bit of a douchey socialpath. He needs a few more explosive moments. It's great that he has a panic attack after Nan puts him in his place. I also find the compensation discussion interesting. It could have added more of that into the movie. Rosie Perez plays a depressed angry character. It gets a bit depressing to watch her. It is hard to get my hands around these characters. It's as if the movie wants the audience to join Max but I can't completely get into it.

This is a great movie that never found much of an audience. Jeff Bridges should have been Oscar-nominated for his work here. Some scenes are extremely difficult to watch, but you will never forget a lot of them. Also fantastic are Rosie Perez and Benicio Del Toro. The crash scenes are so realistic, that it is unthinkable that people actually did go through similar ordeals.

caught this on TV last night. Second time around for me, the first time this film had a great effect on me personally. I survived a close workplace explosion many years ago and remember vividly to this day the unreal feeling going home on bus and train as if walking on air in slow motion while the whole world around me carried on bustling by as normal.

Weir again surpasses himself judged against his Truman Show and Witness standards of excellence, what an interesting film maker he is.

Bridges has never been better, if you think his comedy performance in Lebowski is magnificent you should check out his drama performance here.

Rossellini looks ravishing and delivers a wonderful and subtle performance.

Perez does very well interpreting a difficult role of an ordinary someone not too bright (as Del Toro does also doubled) trying to understand what is happening around her.

Hulce does a lovely comedy turn as the archetypal ambulance chasing lawyer.

Turtturo does a fine underplayed turn as the company hired doctor engendering sympathy.

Even the child actors do very well, obviously everything clicked in this film in what is a very difficult subject matter to get across.

This is an art film for adults, a film that looks at the meaning of existence, the journey from life to death, the randomness of chance accidents, the "bullet with your name on it", religion, atheism, the value of psycho therapy, the pain of loss, coming to terms with the insignificance of individual life in a huge universe, and the value of relationships.

It can have the same type of emotional effect as reading The Catcher In the Rye when an adolescent... if you know what I mean... you will know what I mean.

It takes a long time for the story to come to its conclusion with the final piece. That said, Jeff Bridges is such a chameleon, and it's good to see Isabelle Rosselini for what he represents in the film industry. In that sense, you can wait for 2 hours.

Peter Weir has always been a filmmaker to admire. 'The Truman Show' is a legendary film, my all-time favorite film. 'Fearless', which released way back in 1993, sadly ranks amongst his weak efforts. However, this does become 'A Must Watch' film due to the strong performances by it's lead cast.

Academy-Award-Winner Jeff Bridges stars as a man's who's personality is dramatically changed after surviving a major airline crash. The aftermath of the character and his connections with the world... is what 'Fearless' is all about.

'Fearless' begins wonderfully, but 40-minutes into the film, it loses the pace. Even the culmination leaves a lot to be desired. Weir's direction is satisfactory, but the Screenplay has loose-ends. The Cinematography is good.

As mentioned, 'Fearless' is packed with strong performances. Jeff Bridges plays a highly difficult role with brilliance. This truly is one of his best performances to date. Rosie Perez is outstanding in a role that, again, is very Hard to play and execute. Isabella Rossellini is marvelous. Tom Hulce is hugely effective. Benicio del Toro leaves a mark, he's superb.

On the whole, Not A Gem, but surely deserves a watch for the Performances, that leave you stunned!