BACKDRAFT
Reviewed by David N. Butterworth
(c) 1991 David N. Butterworth/The Summer Pennsylvanian
In what might already be one of the "hottest" films of the summer, BACKDRAFT does for firefighters what GOODFELLAS did for gangsters -- it elevates its protagonists to a level bordering on the heroic. Only in this case, the firefighters in Ron Howard's latest film are truly deserving of that praise.
Viewers expecting a turgid retread of THE TOWERING INFERNO will be in for a surprise (unless their idea of a good time is watching Fred Astaire spontaneously combust). For the effects in BACKDRAFT are indeed special, visual pyrotechnics that would make even George Lucas' head spin.
But BACKDRAFT is less an Irwin Allen-style disaster film than it is a human drama consumed by fire, a film about the motivations of men that risk their lives to save others. Audience members are likely to feel more sensitive about firefighters after seeing this film. For Philadelphians at least, this film comes hot on the heels of the Center City fire that claimed the lives of three firefighters, making this film all the more poignant.
Twenty years after witnessing the death of his firefighter father in a rooftop blaze, Brian McCaffrey (William Baldwin) returns home to the firefighting business after a series of dead-end jobs have left him feeling empty and alienated. His brother Stephen (played by Kurt Russell in a powerful and sweaty performance) has followed directly in his father's footsteps and is now a Lieutenant in the Chicago Fire Department. On more than one occasion in this film is Stephen McCaffrey referred to as "The Best."
The sibling rivalry between these two brothers is played out against a backdrop of danger, destruction and death. As one of the film's characters observes, it's the firemen who run into the burning building while everyone else is running out! And Stephen himself tells his younger brother, who admits to having a bad day on the job, "You have a bad day, and someone dies."
Stephen believes that Brian cannot cut it as a firefighter yet Brian sets out to prove him wrong. However, Stephen's suspicions turn out to be correct, and Brian ends up taking a job with the city's top arson investigator, Donald Rimgale (Robert De Niro).
Rimgale's world is one of smoke-eaters (firemen), crispers (fire victims) and torches (arsonists). Their investigations into who is setting these fires and causing these "backdrafts" (explosions triggered when air enters an oxygen-free room) lead them to Ronald Bartel (Donald Sutherland). In a scene straight out of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Sutherland, white haired and rolling his eyes a lot, has never been more maniacal on screen.
Away from his work, Stephen constantly battles with his estranged wife Helen, played by Rebecca DeMornay (RISKY BUSINESS) in a quiet, understated performance. Not that he is away from his work for long. Russell's character seems to prefer putting out fires at the office rather than those at home.
But neither of these two sub-plots are as arresting as the actual scenes of fire itself, which range in intensity from spectacular to downright amazing. Director Howard -- whose previous film was the 1989 domestic comedy/drama PARENTHOOD -- admits that to make a film about firefighters with the sophistication of today's audiences would require effects over and above the norm.
And to his credit he has accomplished that. No gas jets under the camera lens here. Howard's film personifies fire as a physical entity, a force that the firefighters must first stalk, and then kill, like a wild animal. As Robert De Niro's character says, "It's a living thing. It lives. It breathes. It hates. The only way to beat it is to think like it. The only way to kill it is to love it a little."
BACKDRAFT is a first rate action yarn - dirty, loud and full of explosive special effects. It is also a well crafted personal drama, replete with uniformly fine performances. But perhaps it's greatest triumph is that it bestows a renewed respect on a profession all too often taken for granted.
| Directed by: Ron Howard David N. Butterworth - UNIVERSITY OF PA | | Rating: *** Internet: butterworth@a1.mscf.upenn.edu |
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