Waking the Dead

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Waking the Dead

R

Released Mar 24, 2000

1h 45m

Drama

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50%

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56 Reviews

77%

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5,000+ Ratings

Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup) has long been on the road to political candidacy. After the Coast Guard, he enrolls in law school and meets firebrand activist Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly). Taken by her passion and beauty, Fielding pursues her. But their romance is cut short when she is killed doing aid work in Chile. Nearly a decade later, Fielding is closer than ever to his political dreams, but he is haunted by visions, and by a growing feeling that Sarah is alive.

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Bruce Westbrook

Houston Chronicle

You can embrace this movie's message, which has less to do with political agendas than basic human decency and the enduring power of love. And if that's not enough to make a film worthwhile, we don't know what is.

Rated: A-

Jul 21, 2005

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Stephen Holden

New York Times

Painfully earnest.

May 20, 2003

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Scott Nash

Three Movie Buffs

Crudup and Connelly outperform the material.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 23, 2010

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Waking the Dead is D.O.A., and none of its manifest good intentions are capable of resuscitating it.

Rated: D

Dec 6, 2005

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Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Rated: 2/5

Sep 27, 2005

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Steve D

Never comes together thanks to a weak script and copout ending.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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IMRAN M

sometime it looks as we are seeing Sex movie

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Audience Member

A beautiful and underrated movie!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly are lovers and ideological antagonists in this haunting romantic drama that was vastly overlooked by audiences and critics. Crudup is a political idealist and opportunist driven to run for Congress; Connelly is an outspoken social activist killed by a car bomb. Connelly's death haunts Crudup years later - he can't let go of her and has hallucinations that she's still alive. (Thankfully, it's never spelled out whether or not the hallucinations are real.) This is an intelligent, emotional modern romance that makes us understand how two people with different political beliefs can still be in love. Crudup and Connelly are both superb in career best performances. Connelly is so smart and beautiful and passionate it's easy to see why Crudup would go a bit crazy. There is a wonderful scene where Crudup has a nervous breakdown at a restaurant with his family, following an election, which is heartbreaking. At times, the use of flashbacks muddles the temporal sequence but never in detriment. Written by Robert Dillon, based on the book by Scott Spencer. Directed by Keith Gordon. With Hal Holbrook, Janet McTeer, Paul Hipp, Molly Parker, Sandra Oh, and Ed Harris.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

very under rated. Billy Crudup is amazing in this film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Frances H

A beautiful film and a beautiful love story. It really moved me.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/01/14

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Keith Gordon

Director

Billy Crudup

Fielding Pierce

Jennifer Connelly

Sarah Williams

Molly Parker

Juliet Beck

Janet McTeer

Caroline Pierce

Paul Hipp

Danny Pierce

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Synopsis

Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup) has long been on the road to political candidacy. After the Coast Guard, he enrolls in law school and meets firebrand activist Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly). Taken by her passion and beauty, Fielding pursues her. But their romance is cut short when she is killed doing aid work in Chile. Nearly a decade later, Fielding is closer than ever to his political dreams, but he is haunted by visions, and by a growing feeling that Sarah is alive.

Director: Keith Gordon
Producer: Keith Gordon, Stuart Kleinman, Linda Reisman
Screenwriter: Robert Dillon, Keith Gordon, Scott Spencer
Distributor: USA Films
Production Co: Egg Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Gramercy Pictures
Rating: R (Sexuality|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 24, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $327.4K
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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