Bringing out the Dead (1999)
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe/Panavision 121m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Tom Sizemore, Mary Beth Hurt, Ving Rhames
Synopsis:
A New York City paramedic is haunted by memories of a woman whose life he did not save, and only regains his sanity thanks to another woman whose father is on the brink of death.
Review:
Scripted by Paul Schrader, this draws inevitable comparisons with Taxi Driver but, aside from the superficial similarities, is on an altogether different trajectory. For a start it is about redemption, and the rediscovery of a common humanity in the face of dehumanising squalour. Secondly, it is high on benzedrine, like one deprived of sleep and forced to live at fever pitch in order to stay awake; very different to the stately progress of Travis Bickle through the night's depravity, and its hero's ruminations are on a higher plain of articulateness. Cage holds it together well, but it is the lesser film because it is both less shocking, hard though it tries, and muddled in its message: the lunatic social misfit is spared but the ageing dad's spirit begs to be put down.
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe/Panavision 121m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Tom Sizemore, Mary Beth Hurt, Ving Rhames
Synopsis:
A New York City paramedic is haunted by memories of a woman whose life he did not save, and only regains his sanity thanks to another woman whose father is on the brink of death.
Review:
Scripted by Paul Schrader, this draws inevitable comparisons with Taxi Driver but, aside from the superficial similarities, is on an altogether different trajectory. For a start it is about redemption, and the rediscovery of a common humanity in the face of dehumanising squalour. Secondly, it is high on benzedrine, like one deprived of sleep and forced to live at fever pitch in order to stay awake; very different to the stately progress of Travis Bickle through the night's depravity, and its hero's ruminations are on a higher plain of articulateness. Cage holds it together well, but it is the lesser film because it is both less shocking, hard though it tries, and muddled in its message: the lunatic social misfit is spared but the ageing dad's spirit begs to be put down.
Country: US
Technical: DeLuxe/Panavision 121m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Tom Sizemore, Mary Beth Hurt, Ving Rhames
Synopsis:
A New York City paramedic is haunted by memories of a woman whose life he did not save, and only regains his sanity thanks to another woman whose father is on the brink of death.
Review:
Scripted by Paul Schrader, this draws inevitable comparisons with Taxi Driver but, aside from the superficial similarities, is on an altogether different trajectory. For a start it is about redemption, and the rediscovery of a common humanity in the face of dehumanising squalour. Secondly, it is high on benzedrine, like one deprived of sleep and forced to live at fever pitch in order to stay awake; very different to the stately progress of Travis Bickle through the night's depravity, and its hero's ruminations are on a higher plain of articulateness. Cage holds it together well, but it is the lesser film because it is both less shocking, hard though it tries, and muddled in its message: the lunatic social misfit is spared but the ageing dad's spirit begs to be put down.