Themes: Haunted By the Past, Starting Over, Journey of Self-Discovery
Main Cast: Jeff Bridges, Rosie Perez, Isabella Rossellini, Tom Hulce, John Turturro
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 121 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Adapted by screenwriter Rafael Yglesias from his own novel, Fearless explores the complex struggle back to mental health of post-traumatic stress disorder victim Max Klein (Jeff Bridges). One of few survivors of a fatal plane crash, Klein remains calm and assists other survivors out of the burning debris, earning praise as a hero by the media. After stoically departing the tragedy without a word to emergency officials, Max returns home with detached feelings towards his wife (Isabella Rossellini) and son, along with a bizarre, seemingly authentic belief that he is now impervious to harm. Bill Perlman (John Turturro), a psychiatrist for the airline, fails to reach Max about his newfound fearlessness, but asks for his help in aiding Carla (Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Rosie Perez), a fellow crash survivor filled with grief and guilt over the loss of her baby. In one of his earlier roles, Benicio del Toro plays a small part as Carla's boyfriend. ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, All Movie Guide
Review
Despite poor domestic box-office earnings, director Peter Weir earned well-deserved critical acclaim for this underrated drama. Weir's subtle use of visual symbolism includes sun-cast reflections, danger-yielding construction signage, and "forbidden fruit" (strawberries play an important supporting role), imparting a mystical overtone to what is essentially a psychological character study. Jeff Bridges' unnerving performance is typically understated, while Oscar-nominee Rosie Perez forgoes her usual histrionics to convincingly portray a mother in the throes of clinical depression, who discovers that her infant son is only the first of several important relationships she must give up. It is in the character of airline psychiatrist Bill Pearlman (John Turturro) that the film falters, never revealing the true nature of the malady suffered by the hero and instead using Turturro's character as a transparent narrative device. Weir's juxtaposition of calming, classical music during a flashback to the horrific airplane crash, when most directors would have staged the event like an action sequence, results in the perfect culmination of the film's overall mood of eerie transcendence. ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, All Movie Guide
Benicio Del Toro - Manny Rodrigo; Deirdre O'Connell - Nan Gordon; John deLancie - Jeff Gordon; Spencer Vrooman - Jonah Klein; Don Amendolia - Male Survivor; Doug Ballard - 2nd FBI Agent; Kevin Brophy - TV Reporter; Suzanne Q. Burdeau - Danielle's Mother; David Carpenter - Young Man in Group; Loyd Catlett - Texan; Daniel Cerny - Byron Hummel; Molly Cleator - IHOP Waitress; Steven Culp - Emergency Doctor; Cordis Heard - Flight Attendant; Rance Howard - Bald Cabby; Randle Mell - Peter Hummel; Debra Monk - Alison; Sally Murphy - Jackie; William Newman - Elderly Man; Elsa Raven - Grey Haired Lady; Rondi Reed - Woman Survivor; Robin Pearson Rose - Sarah; Richard Blum - Passenger #1; Anne Kerry Ford - Mother of Baby; Joan Murphy - Ice Cream Mom; Kathy Rossetter - Jennifer Hummel; Jeanine Jackson - Redhead; Howard Feuer; Eric Menyuk - Sears Salesman; Eve Roberts - Gail Klein; Robert "Bobby Z" Zajonc - helicoptor pilot
Credit
Christopher Burian-Mohr - Art Director, Alan B. Curtiss - Associate Producer, Robin Foreman - Co-producer, William S. Beasley - Co-producer, Marilyn Matthews - Costume Designer, John Rusk - First Assistant Director, Alan B. Curtiss - First Assistant Director, Peter Weir - Director, Lee Smith - Editor, Armen Minasian - Editor, William M. Anderson - Editor, Bette Iverson - Hair Styles, Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki - Composer (Music Score), Maurice Jarre - Composer (Music Score), Charles Wilborn - Musical Direction/Supervision, Edouard Henriques III - Makeup, John Stoddart - Production Designer, William S. Beasley - Production Designer, Allen Daviau - Cinematographer, Mark Rosenberg - Producer, Paula Weinstein - Producer, John Anderson - Set Designer, Ken Pepiot - Special Effects, Phil Judd - Sound/Sound Designer, Rafael Yglesias - Screenwriter, Rafael Yglesias - Book Author
Max Klein is a survivor of a plane crash. Many die, including his business partner. The trauma transforms his entire life. He enters an altered state of consciousness; soon after the crash he even thinks he is dead, and begins rethinking life, death, God, and the afterlife. Existential questions start to preoccupy his life. He moves away from his wife, son, and friends but, encouraged by an airline-contracted psychiatrist, he tries to break the depression and apathy of another survivor, Carla Rodrigo, who lost her baby son during the flight. Eventually Max's increasingly dramatic attempts at pushing the boundaries between life and death succeed in jolting Carla from her uncertain state. However, after parting company with Carla, Max remains preoccupied, which endangers his relationship with his wife and son. Max has another extremely serious near-death experience after eating a strawberry, resulting in a severe allergic reaction. He survives and (it is implied) recovers his emotional connection to his family and the world.
The doomed flight in the movie bears many resemblances with the real-life crash landing of United Airlines Flight 232 in 1989:
The plane suffered a failure in the hydraulics system, following an engine explosion.
The crew attempted an emergency landing, and many of the passengers and crew survived.
A man receives media coverage for saving the life of a small child who is supposed to be a real-life survivor. This child, in real life was Spencer Bailey. In real life, the man was Lt. Colonel Dennis Nielsen.
