* * * * (out of 4)
PART 2 OF 2
The opening scene in the film clearly establishes the event which will haunt Fielding through the entire film, as he witnesses a car accident on television and learns that Sarah is dead. Throughout the rest of the film, whether in the flashbacks of the '70s or Fielding's campaign in the '80s, Sarah is ever present - a ghost when not onscreen. He is convinced that she is there with him at all times, but what her purpose is will perhaps always remain unknown.
As Fielding's obsessive love for Sarah is rekindled, he begins to actually believe she is physically there with him in the sidelines, but Gordon allows you to decide whether this is a ghost story or the slow fragmentation of one man's life, when time collides and the past and present merge.
It sounds very complicated from the plot description - a mix of political struggles and true love. While it is a rigorous story, moving in a non-linear mode which can be difficult to follow, the emotions are simple and clear - and the central relationship between Sarah and Fielding is the heart of this film, and keeps it accessible and within the realm of understanding. It's one of the most accurate depictions of romantic love which I've seen onscreen.
Keith Gordon has always had a great gift for working with actors, having once been an actor himself. Gary Sinise and Nick Nolte gave the best work of their careers in, respectively, A Midnight Clear and Mother Night. Here, Billy Crudup establishes himself as a handsome leading man who can also act. He has a powerful scene late in the film where he's breaking down at a dinner table, repeating the same sentences over and over again.
Jennifer Connelly is a revelation - an actress I've never found compelling or interesting before, yet wonderfully dynamic and funny, here. There's just something about her performance, the way she tilts her head or says something, which rings true. When she says to Crudup, "It's infuriating how much I love you," after a fight, it's a moment we've felt before. The word I would keep coming back to is "honesty" in her work with Crudup. Gordon brought something out of her, something radiant and powerful, which hasn't been evident before.
