Sunday, December 31, 2006

Review: The Lazarus Child

I was thinking we needed some more reviews up on Angie B News! but until the book comes out, we have nothing to review. So I've revived an old review I did of an AB movie that was never released in the States. The filming of The Lazarus Child (or more recently called 'The Last Door') wrapped in 2003, yet it still hasnt hit theaters in the US, despite the praise from foriegn countries. Italy, Finland, China, and Sweden have all been introduced to this movie. So I did a little searching and found a reliable international website that is selling the DVD and actually ships to the US. Heres my review:

So finally I got The Lazarus Child in the mail. It had Dutch writing all over it, that of course I couldnt read, but I can now say that I've finally seen her movie. Unlike some of her movies in the past few years, she actually is in The Lazarus Child quite often. Though I dont know if that is such a great thing. The film proved to be both touching and moving even if it was often unrealistic.

The Lazarus Child centers around a family who has just suffered a tragedy. Their young daughter gets in a road accident which puts her in a seemingly irreversible coma. Thats where Angie comes in:

Angela's character is Elizabeth "Lizzie" Chase and she is in charge of an innovative clinic for children in a coma. The techniques she uses to heal the children are repeatedly unbelievable, using massages to stimulate the nerves and connection cables to communicate to the unconscious.

There are some scenes that display Angela's powerful talents: in one scene you can see her rolling her eyes and making clever verbal attacks that make any movie worth watching. In this specific scene she is arguing with a police detective about her clinic's well-being and many times I felt the urge to tell the poor officer "Just give up! You're never going to win!" In other instances Angies character was too textbook and cliche, she seemed to be very willing to risk it all for these children (although they do explain this in the film).

There is some over-acting and even some under-acting in the film that adds to its unbelievability. But the best scenes are the flashbacks when she is hypnotized and can communicate with the children in a coma. She shows both strength and vulnerability while trying to bring them out of their own minds.

In general, the film isnt a stretch for Angela who is capable of much more. But it is definitely a good rest stop while waiting in-between Angie's other movies.




More Pictures of Angela in The Lazarus Child:






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