Waking the Dead essays

Waking the Dead essays Waking the Dead stirs passion on screen Some people believe that fate truly guides our lives, and we are destined to truly love only one person. Well, how do you know if the person you love is whom you are meant to be with? What if you fell in love with someone who doesnt fit into your destiny? How far can love transcend? What boundaries can it overcome? Waking the Dead explores those boundaries of fate, love, class, power, even death. Based on the 1986 novel by Scott Spencer, Waking the Dead takes place in 1972 and 1982. In the earlier years young Coast Guard officer and Harvard graduate Fielding Pierce, played by Billy Crudup (Inventing the Abbots, Without Limits), is passionately drawn to Sarah Williams, played by Jennifer Connelly (The Rocketeer, Labyrinth, Inventing the Abbots), an idealistic activist. The two fall into a passionate love affair: We will never be apart, Sarah tells him. But, in 1974, fate abruptly separates the two lovers when Sarah is murdered in a car-bombing. In 1982 the up and coming county attorney Fielding Pierce lives in Chicago with his socialite girlfriend, Juliet Beck, played by Molly Parker. Juliets uncle, Isaac Green (Hal Holbrook, Wallstreet, The Firm) is Fieldings mentor, whos been grooming him since before Sarahs death. When the governor chooses Fielding to run for Congress it seems as though he will soon have everything hes always dreamed of. Or will he? Suddenly, memories of Sarah consume him and he begins to see visions of her. Is he losing his sanity, is it Sarahs ghost, or is she still alive? As the past and present blend together, Fielding struggles to focus on his course in life. He questions whether he has fulfilled his destiny, or did he stray from the path? Crudup and Connellys roles entangle in a dust storm of emotions. Through strong performances, they reveal the joy of love and pain of loss, whil ...