Wow! A real character piece! I haven't seen one of these in ... well, I can't count that high.

City of Angels is a great title for this film. It takes place in Los Angeles and is about an angel who falls in love with a doctor. Nicolas Cage, playing the angel, explores the gamut of emotions a man can feel when in love. Cage's performance is real acting. It's acting you haven't seen in a movie in ... well I can't count that high.

OK, the angel thing is kind of cool. Director Brad Silberling does give us a good exploration of who an angel is and what its role in the universe is. It's kind of neat seeing all the angels line up on the beach to watch the sunset, knowing they are sad because then can't feel the surf.

But angels aren't what this film is all about. It's really about what a man will do, what he'll sacrifice to find love. City of Angels really works without special effects. Think of all the special effects you could do with angels. They aren't in this picture. To have put them in would have distracted the film from its focus. Silberling knew exactly what he wanted this film to be, and it looks like he got it.