Bringing Out the Dead (Film Review)
1999 Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Martin Scorsese; Written by: Paul Schrader
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 121 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 7/10
Manhattan paramedic, Frank Pierce, hasn't had a save in months. Since failing to resuscitate a young homeless woman, Rose, Frank has not only started to feel like his hands bring only death, but he's hallucinating Rose's ghost. Struggling to sleep, spiraling into depression, drinking heavily, having visions of the dead, living on the edge, can Frank regain his sanity...and find redemption?
Martin Scorsese's 1999 directorial effort, Bringing Out the Dead, is not among his best, nor is it among the best work of screenwriter, Paul Schrader. A paramedic who is pushing himself too hard all night in the wild streets of early 90s New York sounds like tailor-made material for the famed duo, but for some reason, cohesion escapes them.
Bringing Out the Dead is all over the place, trudging through a listless opening act before striking absolute gold in the second. Schrader's screenplay is broken into three nights, and that second night astutely pairs Nic Cage's Frank with an absolutely top of his game Ving Rhames. Rhames' mad charisma is the perfect foil for Cage's sad sackness, and the former lifts the film into the stratosphere, with several of his character's moments among the best in any 1999 film. The third act then combines the listless shrug of the first with the wild insanity of the second, resulting in a night that's a microcosm of the film, mundanity punctuated by moments of brilliance.
As the dour and failing Frank, Cage is at the top of his game, again using a 1999 role (see also, 8mm) to break his career stereotype, expressing himself not with manic outbursts, but with tired, pained expressions. He's incredible, a consistently slow-burning anchor in Bringing Out the Dead's numbingly chaotic sea. Unfortunately, Scorsese can't bring that consistency himself this time around, making inspired choices at times (again, THAT SECOND ACT), and baffling and silly ones at others (the majority of the first act, and half of the third).
Overall, Bringing Out the Dead can't help but feel like an inconsistent disappointment, and yet its best moments are so good, including a shockingly powerful and redemptive final five minutes, that it still registers in the stunning fabric of 1999 cinema.
As the dour and failing Frank, Cage is at the top of his game, again using a 1999 role (see also, 8mm) to break his career stereotype, expressing himself not with manic outbursts, but with tired, pained expressions. He's incredible, a consistently slow-burning anchor in Bringing Out the Dead's numbingly chaotic sea. Unfortunately, Scorsese can't bring that consistency himself this time around, making inspired choices at times (again, THAT SECOND ACT), and baffling and silly ones at others (the majority of the first act, and half of the third).
Overall, Bringing Out the Dead can't help but feel like an inconsistent disappointment, and yet its best moments are so good, including a shockingly powerful and redemptive final five minutes, that it still registers in the stunning fabric of 1999 cinema.
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