Fearless is a film about how one event can change lives forever. It's a film about hope, about those who bring it and lose it, a film about love and ultimately a film about the kindness of strangers.
Jeff Bridges is Max Klein, a victim of a horrific air crash that kills his best friend. However, he emerges from the accident a changed man, believing he has found a previously lost spirituality. He is no longer allergic to strawberries, something that nearly killed him as a child, for example. From here, he helps others come to terms with their loss, including Rosie Perez's Calrla.
Peter Weir is probably one of the best filmmakers currently working. He has yet to make a bad film, and even struggles to make mediocre ones. However, Fearless is something a cut above his usual high standard. Posing genuinely thought-provoking questions, yet never didactic or vague, Fearless makes you reconsider your own actions and their affect on other people.
The cast is uniformly excellent, with Bridges and Rosselini (as his wife) particularly good. Perez's much maligned Carla is solid enough. Look out for an early, rather excellent performance by Benecio Del Toro, too.
The film ends on an incredibly moving note. Incredibly beautiful and true, Fearless should be considered,a long with Gilliam's The Fisher King, one of the most overlooked gems of modern times.
