Everyone loves Jeff Bridges, but it’s easy to overlook how many great and canonical American films he has starred in since the 1970s. From his breakthrough in The Last Picture Show to his late-period showcase in Hell or High Water, Bridges was stirring and emotionally captivating as a heartthrob and as a grizzled, aging vet. It doesn’t matter if it was a silly sci-fi movie or an impactful drama by an accomplished auteur, Bridges never gives you anything but the best on the screen.
Peter Weir, an exceptional director with a prolific and varied filmography of classics, is also similarly overlooked as a master filmmaker. Hailing from Australia’s robust film scene, the retired Weir appealed to the arthouse cohort, Oscars, and box office, but one of his finest films, Fearless, starring Bridges in a mesmerizing performance, is due for a proper cult appreciation.
‘Fearless’ Sees Jeff Bridges and Peter Weir at Their Best
From moody dramas like Picnic at Hanging Rock to adventure epics like Master and Commander, Peter Weir had the stylistic anonymity of a journeyman director but the heart and sophistication of a beloved auteur. Out of all his wonderful traits, it was his knack for unlocking the best performances out of movie stars with untapped potential that defines his legacy. Harrison Ford‘s lone Oscar nomination came from his Amish community-set drama/thriller, Witness, and he miraculously got a restrained and heartfelt performance out of Jim Carrey in The Truman Show.
With Fearless, released in 1993, Jeff Bridges did not receive an Oscar nod (although his co-star, Rosie Perez, did instead), but anyone who watches the film knows that the actor arguably reached the peak of his abilities in a performance that tapped the most daunting realms of the human soul. The film, which also stars Isabella Rossellini, Tom Hulce, and John Turturro, follows Max Klein (Bridges), a man who miraculously survives a plane crash that killed or severely injured every passenger on board. Not only is Max unscathed physically, but he also does not seem traumatized by the crash. Instead, he experiences an enriching emotional revitalization that causes him to be, as the title indicates, lacking any fear of dangerous activities. While developing a bond with fellow survivor, Carla (Perez), Max becomes perversely attracted to death as a phenomenon.
Fearless has an enticing hook for anyone oblivious to the film’s existence, but its endlessly intriguing concept pays off in unexpected ways. The film’s backdrop as a character study about an aloof man with invincibility (or perceived invincibility in Fearless‘ case) after surviving a deadly crash will draw parallels to Unbreakable. Where M. Night Shyamalan‘s film tracked an ordinary person embracing his superheroic powers, Peter Weir’s sobering drama attempts to ground the life of a disillusioned man with deep emotional scars that are suppressed by his demigod complex. You’re initially on Max’s side during his outlandish journey of supernatural awakening, primarily because Jeff Bridges is so innately charming, but through various unsettling moments of familial despair with his wife, Laura (Rossellini), and a visceral sequence where he crashes his car at full-speed, he becomes more of a cautionary tale rather than an inspirational one.
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The 2009 drama also gave Bridges his first Oscar win.
‘Fearless’ Is a Profound Meditation on Life and Death Told With Narrative Simplicity
As the director of The Truman Show, Weir was no stranger to ornate concepts with potentially convoluted world-building, and Fearless proved to be the director’s blueprint to balancing fantastical circumstances with an intimate character drama. Part of the brilliance of Fearless stems from the active interrogation by Weir regarding the reality of Max’s sensation. Did he truly find a higher power, or is this just a case of neglectful self-care following a traumatic event? Because of the gratifying nature of stripping away one’s fear of death, we want to believe that Max is an almighty spirit paving a new way to life on Earth. Everyone wishes they could inhabit some form of Max’s reckless abandonment, but in the end, you alienate those around you and the fundamentals of natural existence.
Critically acclaimed upon release, Fearless still doesn’t have the following that it deserves, especially since its themes and commentary have taken on new relevance. In an age of self-help/lifestyle Internet influencers who aspire to return to a more primal way of life free from the emotional burdens of contemporary society, Max Klein’s delusional superiority parallels the alienation of young people today. The feeling of being unable to process catastrophic ordeals, the impetus behind Max’s invincibility complex, speaks to the mundanity of horrible things consumed online.
Without such a stellar cast and a sure hand by Peter Weir, a studio film about the most lofty ideas in life or death would likely result in a self-indulgent, laughably pretentious product. For all its deep ruminations on weighty themes, Fearless has a lightness in its narrative conceit and vulnerability in its characterization to feel profound yet wholly understated.
Fearless
- Release Date
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October 15, 1993
- Runtime
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122 minutes
- Director
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Peter Weir
- Writers
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Rafael Yglesias
