Bringing Out the Dead Reviewed by Christian Pyle Directed by Martin Scorsese Written by Paul Schrader (Based on the novel by Joe Connelly) Starring Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore Official Site: http://www.bringingoutthedead.com/ Grade: A
Another driver, a very different kind of taxi. The latest collaboration of screenwriter Paul Schrader and director Martin Scorsese inevitably brings to mind their first, 1976's "Taxi Driver." Like cabby Travis Bickle, paramedic Frank Pierce (Nicolas Cage) cruises New York City on the graveyard shift and has a front-row seat for all the misery and depravity those mean streets can offer. Like Travis, Frank is drawn to a woman he wants to save, and both men also seek to redeem themselves - Travis through violence, Frank through healing.
Frank suffers from burnout. He hasn't saved anyone in months, and the ghost of a homeless girl (Cynthia Roman) who died because of his mistakes pursues Frank with accusations. He has become convinced that his purpose is not to save lives but to serve as a "grief mop." Some of the grief he mops early in the movie belongs to Mary Burke (Patricia Arquette) whose estranged father has suffered a heart attack. After Frank restarts Mr. Burke's heart, the old man is transferred to the hospital, where Mary will be found holding vigil when Frank returns again and again with other patients. In Mary, a recovering drug addict, Frank finds a fellow lost soul.
Frank is partnered with a variety of paramedics whose reactions to the carnage differ from his: Larry (John Goodman) seems unconcerned and dreams of starting his own ambulance service, Marcus (Ving Rhames) puts his faith in Jesus and calls on Frank to do likewise, and Tom (Tom Sizemore) is a violent bigot who thrives on blood and pain. Wandering through it all as pale and dazed as the living dead, Frank explores various routes in search of his own peace, including drugs from Mary's dealer (Cliff Curtis) and a destructive rampage with a baseball bat. Every night Frank begs his boss to fire him, yet he will not quit. His eventual redemption is heavily ironic and raises more questions than it resolves.
Of the many resurrections of the 1970s in recent years, "Bringing Out the Dead" is the most welcome. When Scorsese closed that decade with "Raging Bull" (also from a Schrader screenplay), he seemed to exhaust the style and themes that had produced not only "Taxi Driver" but also "Mean Streets" and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." Since then he's successfully explored a wide range of genres including offbeat comedy ("The King of Comedy" and "After Hours"), gangsters ("GoodFellas" and "Casino"), and period pieces ("The Age of Innocence" and "Kundun"). Now Scorsese returns to familiar turf with the varied skills of a seasoned director. With dizzying cinematography and editing, the filmmakers successfully depict Frank's interior world.
Frank Pierce is Cage's most challenging role since "Leaving Las Vegas," and he proves again that he is a substantial actor. "Bringing Out the Dead" is also the first film real-life spouses Cage and Arquette have made together. Their romantic scenes seem touchingly genuine. The entire cast gives strong performances from start to finish. It's especially nice that Rhames is getting to demonstrate his acting range; too many of his most prominent roles have been criminals and thugs.
Bottom Line: Scorsese and Schrader are an unbeatable combination.
© 1999 Christian L. Pyle
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