City of Angels is, by far, the best release of 1998 (remember,
Titanic was 1997). Meg Ryan is brilliant as Maggie, a doctor whose
life is turned upside down after losing a patient on the operating
table, despite doing everything right. She begins to believe that
she is no longer in control - that no matter what she does, a
patient's life or death does not depend on her.
Nicholas Cage plays 'Seth,' an angel who escorts the departed on their
final journey - and hangs out at the library a lot. He is in the O.R.
to escort Maggie's patient and tries to comfort her when she is unable
to deal with the incident. Seth falls in love with Maggie and faces
a difficult choice.
To help him with that choice are two great supporting characters:
Messinger (Dennis Franz) and Cassiel (Andre Braugher). Messinger
is a former angel who 'died' in order to become human and enjoy the
benefits of humanity - such as Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Cassiel is
an angel and friend of Seth's. These two actors, better known for
playing hard-nosed cops on TV, give excellent performances.
The ending was a little too predictable, but nonetheless moving.
If you like romantic comedies, this is a must see.
It earns a 9