"Waking the Dead" is a film that didn't do particularly well when it was first released. However, over time it's gained a small following of folks who love the movie...and it's obvious when you read through the reviews that some just adore it. I tried, but just didn't enjoy the movie like they did, though I have to admit that the film was creative and had an interesting style.The story involves a young man named Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup) and his obsession with a girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) who was apparently killed in Chile during the time of the Pinochet coup. In the years that followed, Fielding goes further and further in politics...and loses more and more contact with a healthy reality as he's obsessed with her memory. He even things he's seen her at one point and whether or not he did and what happens next can be interpreted various ways.So why didn't I love it? Well, two main reasons. First, while the film had a lovely style, it also moved glacially slow...too slow for me. Second, and much more important, is that I couldn't really understand Fielding's obsession with her since the two were so different...much like how Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand were different in "The Way We Were"...it just was too different to make the obsession seem reasonable. It also didn't help that Crudup often acted as if he was a zombie...and you wonder HOW he could get anywhere in politics and WHO would support him. Sorry...and interesting idea that just didn't appeal to me.

An aspiring politician (Billy Crudup) falls in love with an activist (Jennifer Connelly) in "Waking the Dead" from 2001, directed by Keith Gordon and adapted from the eponymous novel by Robert Dillon.When Fielding Pierce meets his brother's assistant Sarah in 1972, the two fall in love with one another. It's a deep, emotional love. But they have different ideologies. Fielding has political ambitions; Sarah is idealist who spends her time helping others. She is killed in an explosion while helping members of the Chilean resistance.Nine years later, a Fielding is running for the Senate, he starts seeing Sarah everywhere and can't get her out of his mind. It affects his campaign work, to the consternation of those trying to get him elected.This is a movie that's almost painful to watch, because Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly pour such passion and emotion into their love affair, that you feel his pain when she's gone. They're both excellent -- and very young here.There are some old-timers in the cast as well - Hal Holbrook and Bernard Behrens, to name two, but also the excellent stage actors Janet McTeer and Larry Marshall. Ed Harris has a small role as someone on television. "House of Cards" actress Molly Parker plays Crudup's current girlfriend, though he doesn't really love her. I think the love story was the most compelling element of this film - though these two people want to do good in the world, they approach it in different ways, and that separates them.One of the last scenes is deliberately ambiguous when it really shouldn't be -- if you look at the message board you will see a description of a deleted scene and what is in the book.It's a lovely story.One other thing - a lot of people did not like Sarah. I find that so interesting - every time I watch a film featuring a female activist, everybody hates her. I watched "The Constant Gardener" and had to listen to everyone hating on Rachel Weisz. Ditto "The Whistleblower." Go figure. Too left-wing? Too goody two-shoes? I don't know. But people sure have a strong reaction.

Haha. Yeah, that's right, the summary is says it all. I was amazed when I came onto this page to see that its rating was so low. When I saw this movie a couple months ago I absolutely loved it. I thought it was incredible. To people that have made comments that Crudup's acting was poor or flat, I would say that nothing is farther from the truth. This movie made me believe in him as an actor. Perhaps it's just me, but the degree to which I identify with his character is almost scary. Especially given the context of the movie and his descent into madness.This movie was incredibly powerful and perfectly describes my own moral dilemmas when it comes to interacting with politics. Do you use the system in order to bring about change, or do you reject the system because it is rife with corruption and unable to be saved? Not only that, but it's treatments of grief and doubt, shame and responsibility, and the hopes and horrors of insanity are all extremely complex and interesting. The characters are deep and intriguing, the dialog is engaging, and the direction superb.A wonderful movie.

I'd been watching a ton of cheap $1 DVD's for a bit just to get used to movies I'd been putting off. This was the first one I finally got to. I thought it was really well made. I do think it takes awhile to understand, but I got the hang of it. We never really find out if she's real or dead. We'll leave that up to the imagination, but I wouldn't call this a depressing movie. I'd gone for years without watching thinking it would be. But it's more uplifting really. Lets us into a possible area of politicians when they are younger. The music is slow, but the movie runs that way. A lot of music in this movie and loved the Peter Gabriel song at the end. Not sure if I'd watch this all the time, but it's a good movie that gets you thinking.9/10 Quality: 10/10 Entertainment: 6/10 Replayable: 5/10