Movie · 1998 · Romance, Drama, Fantasy · 1h 54m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 2.0/10 (203.2K ratings)
She didn't believe in angels until she fell in love with one.
Overview
When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.
Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan, Dennis Franz, Andre Braugher, Colm Feore, Robin Bartlett, Joanna Merlin, Sarah Dampf, Rhonda Dotson, Nigel Gibbs, John Putch, Lauri Johnson, Christian Aubert, Jay Patterson, Shishir Kurup, Brian Markinson, Hector Velasquez, Marlene Kanter, Bernard White, Dan Desmond
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, melancholy romance with a strong high-concept hook and a memorable mood, but it’s also famously uneven and more admired for its premise, soundtrack, and wistful atmosphere than for its dramatic payoff.
Best for
viewers who like earnest late-90s romantic fantasy
fans of bittersweet love stories with a spiritual angle
people drawn to atmospheric, slow-burn romances
audiences who enjoy sentimental movies with a strong pop soundtrack
Skip if
you want sharp dialogue or a tightly plotted romance
you’re allergic to earnestness and melodrama
you prefer fantasy films with more visual invention
you want a movie that fully commits to its philosophical premise
Overview
City of Angels is a soft-focus romance built on longing, mortality, and the ache of wanting a life you can’t quite keep. Its appeal is less in narrative surprise than in mood: the hush of Los Angeles, the angelic point of view, and the sense that every touch matters because it can’t last. That emotional register has kept it alive for viewers who want their romances tender, tragic, and a little bit devotional.
Worth noting
The film’s reputation is complicated by its uneven execution. It can feel overly solemn, and the screenplay sometimes strains to make the metaphysics carry the emotional weight. Still, the central conceit is potent, and the chemistry between the leads gives the movie enough sincerity to land for many viewers even when the plotting wobbles.
Bottom line
What lingers is the atmosphere: a late-90s studio romance that reaches for transcendence and lands somewhere between tearjerker and dream state. If you meet it on its own terms, it’s a gentle, wistful watch; if you need irony or precision, it may feel like a beautiful near-miss.
Top Letterboxd reviews
kylie (4★) · 1122 likes
and i’d give up forever to touch you :((((( cus i know that you feel me somehow :(((((( you’re the closest to heaven that i’ll ever be :(((((( and i don’t wanna go home right now :(((((((
Maria (2★) · 1095 likes
The Goo Goo Dolls wrote THE masterpiece "Iris" specifically for this movie and it wasn't even used in full?!?
Tito (1.5★) · 1051 likes
I wish i never took recommendations from my mother.
Badur ϟ (4★) · 427 likes
“I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss of her mouth, one touch of her hand, than eternity without it. One.”
Jack (3★) · 369 likes
i, too, would give up being an angel and become mortal again for meg ryan.