Fearless

Jeff Bridges gives the best performance of his career in this film about life, loss, and the nature of salvation. It may also be the best film from director Peter Weir. It isn't as hypnotically beautiful as his Picnic at Hanging Rock, but it is more probing and raises bigger questions. Bridges plays a man who has survived a plane crash, but now he is different, he seems almost invulnerable. Now he's known as the "Good Samaritan" because he rescued a number of people during the accident while maintaining an unnatural calm. He can't die and has no fear of death, he isn't even allergic to strawberries anymore. But he's also closed up, he can't communicate with his wife, because she doesn't understand what it's like. In a sense he thinks he's already dead, yet he recognizes the love of life. He bonds with a young woman who lost her baby during the crash. The film is based on the novel by Rafael Yglesias who also wrote the screenplay. Bridges is magnificent, the plane crash sequences are intense and haunting, and the ending is as beautiful as one could hope for. Bonus points for the best use of a U2 song in a film to date. What a great, underseen little film.