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Fearless (1993 film)
Encyclopedia
Fearless is a 1993 film directed by Peter Weir
and written by Rafael Yglesias
from his novel of the same name. It was shot entirely in California
.
Rosie Perez
was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
for her role as Carla Rodrigo. (She lost to Anna Paquin
for The Piano
.) The film was also entered into the 44th Berlin International Film Festival
. Jeff Bridges
' role as Max Klein is widely regarded as one of the best performances of his career. The film's soundtrack features part of the first movement of Henryk Górecki
's Symphony No. 3
, subtitled Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. The plot is based on details of United Airlines Flight 232
.
) survives a crash of a flight headed from San Francisco to Houston. As the plane was descending, Max inexplicably became at peace when he accepted he was going to die. The revelation coaxed him to take it upon himself to comfort many of the fearful passengers, even moving to sit next to Byron Hummel (Daniel Cerny), a young boy flying alone. The psychological trauma
of the experience transforms his personality and he enters an altered state of consciousness
, rethinking his life and becoming preoccupied with existential questions of life and death.
Immediately after the crash, Max, one of the plane's few survivors, rents a car and drives from the crash site in Bakersfield to Los Angeles, stopping on the way to see his old high school sweetheart, Alison (Debra Monk
), who he hadn't visited in 20 years. During their meal at a restaurant, Alison notices Max eating a strawberry and inquires about his allergy
to them. Max grins and explains he's "gotten past" his allergic reaction and confidently finishes it with no problems. He's tracked down at a hotel room the next morning by F.B.I.
agents who question his odd choice to not contact his wife and family or remain at the crash site with the other survivors. The airline sends a representative who compensates him with train tickets to go home to San Francisco. Max declines the tickets, stating adamantly he wants to fly home and has no fear of air travel anymore. On the flight, he meets Dr. Bill Perlman (John Turturro
), an airline-contracted psychiatrist who offers to counsel Max for post-traumatic stress disorder
.
Dr. Perlman accompanies Max back to his home where his wife Lauren (Isabella Rossellini
) begins noticing his strange behavior. Max matter-of-factly informs Nan Gordon (Deirdre O'Connell
), the wife of his friend and business partner, that her husband Jeff (John de Lancie
) died in the crash. The media dubs Max "The Good Samaritan" and tries to interview him as Byron comes to publicly thank him for the way he comforted the passengers during the crash, but Max avoids making a statement. Over time, Max becomes distant from Lauren and his son Jonah (Spencer Vrooman) because of his preoccupation with his near death experience
. He comes to think of himself as invulnerable to death, causing Dr. Perlman to become concerned with Max's delusion. Perlman encourages Max to meet with another survivor, Carla Rodrigo (Rosie Perez
) in the hopes that the two can help support one another. Carla, who lost her baby son in the crash, struggles with survivor's guilt
, punishing herself for not holding onto him tight enough when his seat belt on the plane malfunctioned. Max and Carla bond and develop an intimate friendship as he helps her to get past her depression and free herself from her guilt.
Max, Lauren and Nan, meet with attorney Steven Brillstein (Tom Hulce
) who encourages Max to exaggerate his testimony in order to increase Nan's compensable settlement offer
from the airline. Max states his discomfort with lying but reluctantly agrees when he considers Nan's financial predicament as a widow. The unease of lying causes Max to have a panic attack
and he runs out of the office to the roof of the building where he climbs onto the ledge. As Max stands on the ledge, looking down at the streets below, his panic attack subsides and he rejoices in his fearlessness. Lauren follows Max onto the roof and upon finding him, believes him to be suicidal.
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 distant in his relationship with his wife and son. Brillstein arrives at the Klein home to celebrate the pending settlement offer, and brings a basket with an assortment of fruits. Max eats one of the strawberries but, unlike in the restaurant, this time experiences an allergic reaction and suffocates. As he lay choking, Max accepts the reality of his death when suddenly he's resuscitated by Lauren. He survives and (it's implied) recovers his emotional connection to his family and to the world.
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
and written by Rafael Yglesias
Rafael Yglesias
Rafael Yglesias is an American novelist and screenwriter. His parents were the novelists Jose Yglesias and Helen Yglesias. The blogger and journalist Matthew Yglesias is his older son; his younger son, Nicholas, is also a novelist and has applied to become a police cadet.Yglesias was born and...
from his novel of the same name. It was shot entirely in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Rosie Perez
Rosie Perez
Rosa María "Rosie" Pérez is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, director and community activist.- Early life :...
was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for her role as Carla Rodrigo. (She lost to Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin
Anna Helene Paquin is a Canadian-born New Zealand actress. Paquin's first critically successful film was The Piano, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 at the age of 11 – the second youngest winner in history...
for The Piano
The Piano
The Piano is a 1993 New Zealand drama film about a mute pianist and her daughter, set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier backwater on the west coast of New Zealand. The film was written and directed by Jane Campion, and stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and Anna Paquin...
.) The film was also entered into the 44th Berlin International Film Festival
44th Berlin International Film Festival
The 44th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to 21, 1994.-Jury:* Jeremy Thomas * Chinghiz Aitmatov* María Luisa Bemberg* Hsu Feng* Morgan Freeman* Francis Girod* Corinna Harfouch* Carlo Lizzani...
. Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
' role as Max Klein is widely regarded as one of the best performances of his career. The film's soundtrack features part of the first movement of Henryk Górecki
Henryk Górecki
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki was a composer of contemporary classical music. He studied at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice between 1955 and 1960. In 1968, he joined the faculty and rose to provost before resigning in 1979. Górecki became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during...
's Symphony No. 3
Symphony No. 3 (Górecki)
The Symphony No. 3, Op. 36, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs , is a symphony in three movements composed by Henryk Górecki in Katowice, Poland, between October and December 1976. The work is indicative of the transition between Górecki's dissonant earlier manner and his more tonal...
, subtitled Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. The plot is based on details of United Airlines Flight 232
United Airlines Flight 232
United Airlines Flight 232 was a scheduled flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, with continuing service to Philadelphia International Airport...
.
Plot
While taking a business trip, Max Klein (Jeff BridgesJeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
) survives a crash of a flight headed from San Francisco to Houston. As the plane was descending, Max inexplicably became at peace when he accepted he was going to die. The revelation coaxed him to take it upon himself to comfort many of the fearful passengers, even moving to sit next to Byron Hummel (Daniel Cerny), a young boy flying alone. The psychological trauma
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
of the experience transforms his personality and he enters an altered state of consciousness
Altered state of consciousness
An altered state of consciousness , also named altered state of mind, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1966 by Arnold M. Ludwig and brought into common usage from 1969 by Charles Tart: it describes induced...
, rethinking his life and becoming preoccupied with existential questions of life and death.
Immediately after the crash, Max, one of the plane's few survivors, rents a car and drives from the crash site in Bakersfield to Los Angeles, stopping on the way to see his old high school sweetheart, Alison (Debra Monk
Debra Monk
Debra Monk is an American actress, singer, and writer.Monk was born in Middletown, Ohio. She was voted "best personality" by the graduating class at Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. She graduated from Frostburg State University in 1963...
), who he hadn't visited in 20 years. During their meal at a restaurant, Alison notices Max eating a strawberry and inquires about his allergy
Food allergy
A food allergy is an adverse immune response to a food protein. They are distinct from other adverse responses to food, such as food intolerance, pharmacological reactions, and toxin-mediated reactions....
to them. Max grins and explains he's "gotten past" his allergic reaction and confidently finishes it with no problems. He's tracked down at a hotel room the next morning by F.B.I.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agents who question his odd choice to not contact his wife and family or remain at the crash site with the other survivors. The airline sends a representative who compensates him with train tickets to go home to San Francisco. Max declines the tickets, stating adamantly he wants to fly home and has no fear of air travel anymore. On the flight, he meets Dr. Bill Perlman (John Turturro
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
), an airline-contracted psychiatrist who offers to counsel Max for post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
.
Dr. Perlman accompanies Max back to his home where his wife Lauren (Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
) begins noticing his strange behavior. Max matter-of-factly informs Nan Gordon (Deirdre O'Connell
Deirdre O'Connell
Eleanore Deirdre O'Connell was an Irish actress, singer, and theatre director who founded Dublin's Focus Theatre.-Biography:...
), the wife of his friend and business partner, that her husband Jeff (John de Lancie
John de Lancie
John de Lancie is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1....
) died in the crash. The media dubs Max "The Good Samaritan" and tries to interview him as Byron comes to publicly thank him for the way he comforted the passengers during the crash, but Max avoids making a statement. Over time, Max becomes distant from Lauren and his son Jonah (Spencer Vrooman) because of his preoccupation with his near death experience
Near death experience
A near-death experience refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution;...
. He comes to think of himself as invulnerable to death, causing Dr. Perlman to become concerned with Max's delusion. Perlman encourages Max to meet with another survivor, Carla Rodrigo (Rosie Perez
Rosie Perez
Rosa María "Rosie" Pérez is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, director and community activist.- Early life :...
) in the hopes that the two can help support one another. Carla, who lost her baby son in the crash, struggles with survivor's guilt
Survivor guilt
Survivor, survivor's, or survivors guilt or syndrome is a mental condition that occurs when a person perceives themselves to have done wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not...
, punishing herself for not holding onto him tight enough when his seat belt on the plane malfunctioned. Max and Carla bond and develop an intimate friendship as he helps her to get past her depression and free herself from her guilt.
Max, Lauren and Nan, meet with attorney Steven Brillstein (Tom Hulce
Tom Hulce
Thomas Edward "Tom" Hulce is an American actor and theater producer. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Mozart in the movie Amadeus and his role as "Pinto" in National Lampoon's Animal House. Additional acting awards included a total of four Golden Globe...
) who encourages Max to exaggerate his testimony in order to increase Nan's compensable settlement offer
Settlement offer
A settlement offer or offer to settle is a term used in a civil lawsuit to describe a communication from one party to the other suggesting a settlement - an agreement to end the lawsuit before a judgment is rendered....
from the airline. Max states his discomfort with lying but reluctantly agrees when he considers Nan's financial predicament as a widow. The unease of lying causes Max to have a panic attack
Panic attack
Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that are of sudden onset and of relatively brief duration. Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, reach a peak within 10 minutes, and subside over the next several hours...
and he runs out of the office to the roof of the building where he climbs onto the ledge. As Max stands on the ledge, looking down at the streets below, his panic attack subsides and he rejoices in his fearlessness. Lauren follows Max onto the roof and upon finding him, believes him to be suicidal.
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 distant in his relationship with his wife and son. Brillstein arrives at the Klein home to celebrate the pending settlement offer, and brings a basket with an assortment of fruits. Max eats one of the strawberries but, unlike in the restaurant, this time experiences an allergic reaction and suffocates. As he lay choking, Max accepts the reality of his death when suddenly he's resuscitated by Lauren. He survives and (it's implied) recovers his emotional connection to his family and to the world.
Aesthetic elements
A book containing the painting The Ascent into the Empyrean by Hieronymus Bosch is shown, and it is said that the dying go into the light of heaven "naked and alone". The final scene appears to be modeled on the painting.Cast
- Jeff BridgesJeff BridgesJeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
as Max Klein - Isabella RosselliniIsabella RosselliniIsabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
as Laura Klein - Rosie PerezRosie PerezRosa María "Rosie" Pérez is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, director and community activist.- Early life :...
as Carla Rodrigo - Tom HulceTom HulceThomas Edward "Tom" Hulce is an American actor and theater producer. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Mozart in the movie Amadeus and his role as "Pinto" in National Lampoon's Animal House. Additional acting awards included a total of four Golden Globe...
as Brillstein - John TurturroJohn TurturroJohn Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
as Dr. Bill Perlman - Benicio del ToroBenicio del ToroBenicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
as Manny Rodrigo - Deirdre O'ConnellDeirdre O'Connell (actress)Deirdre O'Connell is an American character actress who has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television.O'Connell began her career at Stage One, an experimental theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts...
as Nan Gordon - John de LancieJohn de LancieJohn de Lancie is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1....
as Jeff Gordon - Debra MonkDebra MonkDebra Monk is an American actress, singer, and writer.Monk was born in Middletown, Ohio. She was voted "best personality" by the graduating class at Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. She graduated from Frostburg State University in 1963...
as Alison
External links
- Fearless Clip plane crash scene