IMDb RATING
6.4/10
7.6K
YOUR RATING
A congressional candidate questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge.A congressional candidate questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge.A congressional candidate questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJennifer Connelly's son Kai was in the film. She was holding him in the scene in which Fielding was at the church.
- GoofsDuring an argument in his new apartment, Fielding's (Billy Crudup) new girlfriend calls him "Billy".
- Quotes
Sarah Williams: Ambition is... the ice on the lake of emotion.
[They walk for a moment in silence]
Fielding Pierce: Who said that?
Sarah Williams: I did.
- Alternate versionsIn the U.S. DVD release, the passionate sex scene between Fielding and Sarah is more graphic, and contains more nudity.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Waking the Dead/Here on Earth/Romeo Must Die (2000)
- SoundtracksSnow Come Down
Performed by Lori Carson
Courtesy of Restless Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Featured review
Politics Vs. Activism
You'll have to choose sides in 'Waking The Dead'. Are you going to be an obedient politician or a liberal activist? Those opposing viewpoints cause a tug-of-war, with eternal love playing the ever-tightening knot in the middle. Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly are Fielding and Sarah; he the idealistic politician and she the faithful revolutionary. We know from the start that she dies via car bomb while raging against the machine. The movie's chronology is all over the place (which is occasionally confusing) and we see them when they're blissfully happy and otherwise. But after she's gone, the upstanding young man fears for his marbles after he starts to see & hear his dead lover everywhere. Is she actually alive or is he just too insane for public office?
Seeing ghosts is tricky. It can turn into unintentional humour without the proper direction. Director Keith Gordon doesn't pull it off as well as he should, but at least the heat between them seems real. Crudup and Connelly make a great romantic match. She's sandpaper to his block of wood, but she's also his conscience. The phrase "Jiminy Cricket" is actually used, and he succeeds politically only as he's failing emotionally. He clearly needs her whispering in his ear, even if he wouldn't agree with what she would have to say. It's clear that she wouldn't approve of what he's become and he knows it. So I guess that makes her the ghost of Jiminy Cricket too.
The movie would be a turd without strong performances. While no one in the supporting cast has lingered in my memory, the talented leads have. They're both good in almost everything they do, so I expected them to be an excellent duo here too. Connelly has since won an Oscar and Crudup probably will too. Some of Gordon's directorial choices undercut what his actors are doing. His style of editing and use of too many arty shots don't work. When the actors are already front row centre, the director should get out of their way.
What grabbed me about 'Waking The Dead' was that both Fielding and Sarah are trying to make the world a better giant rock. She's counterculture and he's as mainstream as it gets. Since the story boils down to politics versus religion, it's no wonder the film didn't find an audience. Most people have opinions on those matters, yet political correctness demands you not share them. But you ARE allowed to discuss love. The movie knows how to get that right...the ache, the irritation, the yearning, and the loss of true love.
Seeing ghosts is tricky. It can turn into unintentional humour without the proper direction. Director Keith Gordon doesn't pull it off as well as he should, but at least the heat between them seems real. Crudup and Connelly make a great romantic match. She's sandpaper to his block of wood, but she's also his conscience. The phrase "Jiminy Cricket" is actually used, and he succeeds politically only as he's failing emotionally. He clearly needs her whispering in his ear, even if he wouldn't agree with what she would have to say. It's clear that she wouldn't approve of what he's become and he knows it. So I guess that makes her the ghost of Jiminy Cricket too.
The movie would be a turd without strong performances. While no one in the supporting cast has lingered in my memory, the talented leads have. They're both good in almost everything they do, so I expected them to be an excellent duo here too. Connelly has since won an Oscar and Crudup probably will too. Some of Gordon's directorial choices undercut what his actors are doing. His style of editing and use of too many arty shots don't work. When the actors are already front row centre, the director should get out of their way.
What grabbed me about 'Waking The Dead' was that both Fielding and Sarah are trying to make the world a better giant rock. She's counterculture and he's as mainstream as it gets. Since the story boils down to politics versus religion, it's no wonder the film didn't find an audience. Most people have opinions on those matters, yet political correctness demands you not share them. But you ARE allowed to discuss love. The movie knows how to get that right...the ache, the irritation, the yearning, and the loss of true love.
helpful•193
- flickershows
- Jul 16, 2004
- How long is Waking the Dead?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $8,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $270,745
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $150,422
- Mar 26, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $270,745
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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