Director: Martin Scorsese Screenwriter: Paul Schrader based on the novel by Joe Connelly Country: USA; Year: 1999 Rating (4 star system): ***1/2
I think it's safe to say that Martin Scorsese is mostly known for his crime dramas although that niche is probably outnumbered by his other works, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Kundun. Although, he's been so associated with that type of film, it's never seemed to stop him from making different types of films, and this is no exception. Although it's a bit uneven, it's extremely pleasing to see Scorsese take such risks in filmmaking. He really does a lot of daring things in the film, all the more impressive seeing as how is arguably the most respected filmmaker working today and that he really need not take such risks. No, that doesn't sound right. Perhaps that is why he must be so daring. Or, conversely (and this makes much more sense simply because it's entirely obvious), he is probably the most respected filmmaker working today because he does take such risks. This film is in the same strain as Taxi Driver, sharing many thematic elements. In fact, I'd venture to say that the parallels are so close, it's nearly surprising it doesn't seem like a rehash. Maybe it's the freshness of the filmmaking, or maybe it's the nearly quarter century gap between that separates them just enough to really see them as familiar, yet dissimilar works. Scorsese has a knack for picking interesting material and that's why his direction usually seems even more at ease than it really is. Here, the source material is a novel about a paramedic, Frank Pierce, who can no longer deal with what he witnesses on the streets without it affecting him to the point where he feels entirely responsible and begins to go insane. The screenplay, by long-time Scorsese associate, Paul Schrader, maintains a nice balance between objectively observing Pierce (played by Nicolas Cage) descend into his madness and allowing the audience to see the situation from a point more subjectively aligned with Pierce. This point is infinitely helped by the strong performance of Cage, and, to a lesser extent, by his supporting cast. Cage is very expressive with minimal effort here. He is often very quiet and often very worked up, but he is always intense and, at least, somewhat seemingly disturbed. Not once did I think he played over the top (not something I've been able to say of most of his performances of late) and not once did I really think he underplayed a thing. The supporting cast was not quite as strong, but they were close and perhaps the only reason they weren't just a bit more effective is because they were never really allowed to express as much. They simply weren't put to the same use as Cage, and this is a choice that had to be made. Whether it's the best choice remains to be seen, but it doesn't seem to really harm the film. John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore were all great characterizations, but they never really became much more than that-- never really characters, that is. The only other real character is Mary Burke (Patricia Arquette). She could be seen as this film's Iris (Jodie foster in Taxi Driver), not really a love interest, but more of a rescue victim (she never really asks for it, but the hero feels the undeniable urge to help, even against her wishes). While her performance, at first, seems a bit on the dull side, her importance escalates as the film moves and she seems to gain from this. This is a good solid film, but it is a bit hard to really get into. I found myself feeling as if I was outside of it for a rather long time, but once I finally got myself into it (and I'm not even sure how or when this occurred), it was quite enthralling. Even while I was feeling outside, it was still quite impressive, even if distanced. I have a feeling, however, that this will be a film I will be more apt to enjoy as I see it on other occasions.
-- TyroneZero's Movies, etc. http://members.tripod.com/~TyroneZero/film.html
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