While the arrival of "City of Angels" in theaters seems rather conveniently timed given the current trendiness of spirituality, credit must be given where credit is due. Director Brad Silberling presents a dark story that will hardly satisfy those thrilled with the fact that the nation is on a collective God-kick.
Based loosely on Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire," "City of Angels" does not give the impression that there is a benevolent higher power out there that makes sure good is rewarded, evil is punished and love conquers all.
Instead, he opts for a portrayal of the human worlds and the angelic/spiritual worlds as being essentially alienated and alienating, both in and of themselves and in relation to each other.
Although the story itself will definitely satisfy fans of romantic drama, plenty of the film's characterizations and plot developments differ from those typically associated with pictures of this genre -- which means that during the moments when "City of Angels" is not especially good, it is at least still interesting.
To help matters more, it also has one hell of an intriguing main character in Seth (Nicholas Cage), an angel who wanders around hospitals waiting to transport the dead into the next world.
Seth is depicted as a lost soul both literally and figuratively, but he discovers a reason to be happy once he falls in love with the beautiful surgeon Maggie Rice (Meg Ryan), a woman that he meets during his angel office hours. Complications arise when Seth learns that he can actually become human by thrusting himself off of any structure located at a high altitude, but the decision to do so is not as easy as it seems given the harsh consequences that may result in entering the flesh-and-blood world.
The progression of the romance between Seth and Maggie is natural and charming, but things get off to a shaky start. In Cage's early scenes with Ryan there is an unfortunate voyeuristic quality that comes off as creepy and undermines the romantic element of the film.
Luckily the film gets better as it goes along, and by about a half-hour into the picture the story and the movie's photography begin to blend together perfectly. To complement Seth's desire to know worldly beauty, "City of Angels" presents a series of haunting, otherworldly images.
While "City of Angels" has an intriguing story and arresting images, it is still a romance, which means that its success or failure depends largely on the chemistry between the two leads. Although the actors do work well together, Ryan is miscast -- a problem which throws off the balance of the picture.
Maggie is a woman that is totally committed to her work but is no great shakes in the relationship department, and the part requires an actress with depth so this character can be seen as the fascinating and troubled individual that she is. In Ryan's hands, Maggie's contradictions can either be written off as stupidity or selfishness depending on how you look at it, and her pixyishness prevents the character from emerging as a sensual woman as opposed to a cute girl.
While Ryan is beguiling in romantic comedies, she has essentially two modes -- perky and perkier -- and she seems out of place in this somber piece. To be fair, she is convincing as a woman in love so it would be unjust to say that the romance falls totally flat. The problem is that she never fully embraces the darker stuff and in the process she sacrifices a lot of the film's meaning.
Ryan's mishandling of her role saddles Cage with more responsibility than he can deal with given the constraints of his character. Nevertheless, he does wonderful work here -- he is funny, touching and intense. We have come to expect this kind of performance from him and he does not disappoint.
Despite the fact that the romance only half works, it is still easy to enjoy Cage's performance and it is nice to see him back in an serious drama after his recent forays into action-adventure land. The actor's last trio of action flicks, while entertaining and deserving of merit in their own right, never quite allowed him to show what an exceptional performer he is. "City of Angels" gives him that chance, and for that alone it is worth seeing. Unfortunately, Cage's performance, together with quality of the story and the impressiveness of the visual style, also serves to make it that much more obvious exactly what is missing in this picture.
