Rent Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

Following ambulances zooming through the wild and filthy New York night - Bringing Out the Dead review by Philip in Paradiso

In Manhattan, in New York in the 1990s, we follow ambulance crews attending to a range of tragedies and incidents on the night shift: murders, suicides and attempted suicides, drug overdoses, comatose drunkards, heart attacks, etc. The central character is paramedic Frank Pierce (Nicolas Cage), and the movie is, really, about his difficulties - to say the least - in coping, emotionally and psychologically, with the job. Frank Pierce suffers from depression, made worse by chronic insomnia. He is the classic case of occupational burnout when it reaches its highest point, i.e. Frank is sinking to his lowest point. Frank feels guilty because, in recent months, he has failed to save anyone on his shift, more particularly.

The film follows Frank from one night shift to the next. Nicolas Cage, in my view, is an over-rated actor: his acting is not bad, but it is not phenomenally good. In the film, he sticks to the same pattern, which is to say he looks more and more haggard as the story develops (unshaven, sunken cheeks, wild eyes, etc.). He has 'burn-out' plastered all over his face: it is quite clear he would need medical attention. The incidents, accidents and tragedies accumulate, sometimes graphic and gory, and yet only Frank seems to be desperate. All around him, the others appear to be coping fairly well with the utter, chaotic mess that New York City is (as depicted in the film). In 'Taxi Driver', NYC by night felt dark, atmospheric, threatening, deep, complex and fascinating. Not so in this movie. It is what it is: rushing from one ghastly emergency to the next.

What saves the film, in my opinion, is not N Cage (see above), but the supporting roles, which are among the best you will ever come across on screen, and the sound track, which is remarkably good and inspiring. Regarding the former, I am referring here to the 2nd paramedic that Frank is on shift with (a different one each time). Some of them are, essentially, nutcases. Ving Rhames (as Marcus) is particularly good: that sequence made me scream with laughter, in fact. And there is a lot of humour in the film: a raw New York kind of humour, which makes the film less gloomy and more like real life. The film is a study in larger-than-life characters, essentially, and this does not include Frank, who is a drip more than anything else, but the others: his team mates and the - often strange - people that they come across in the New York night.

The problem I can see is that the film shows things we have seen before: a big city at night, the crime, the violence, the prostitution, the chaos, and so on. This is not new. And Martin Scorsese did it far, far better in 'Taxi Driver'. There are some human-interest stories, but they are not truly earth-shattering. The film focuses on ordinary people trying to cope in extraordinary situations that are, nevertheless, quite common, in a big American city at any rate. The movie will fascinate you if you are highly interested in the work of paramedics, in ambulances, in hospitals, and in medical procedures. Overall, I do not regret seeing this film, but it is not that exceptional and I feel I could have done without. What it lacks, in the last analysis, is that thick, claustrophobic atmosphere that pervades 'Taxi Driver'. But that's a totally different movie, obviously.

Relentless, Pulsing Chaos - Bringing Out the Dead review by griggs

Bringing Out the Dead is brilliant—easily Scorsese's most underrated film. Why is it so difficult to get a copy of this? It deserves to be talked about as much as Taxi Driver. Once again, Scorsese and Paul Schrader dive deep into the gritty, sleepless underbelly of New York City, but this time through the eyes of an exhausted paramedic, played by Nicolas Cage in one of his most mesmerising performances. Cage is raw, gripping, and utterly real, capturing the mental unravelling of a man haunted by those he couldn't save.

 The film's energy is relentless, pulsing with the chaos and despair of the city that never sleeps. The neon-soaked cinematography and relentless editing pull you right into the madness, making you feel like you're right there on the streets of New York. It's a shame this gem isn't more accessible because it's the kind of movie that should be considered an all-time classic. Scorsese, Schrader, and Cage are a perfect storm here. Seek it out and immerse yourself in this cinematic experience.

A committed Cage & some brilliant imagery could not overcome my lack of engagement in the material - Bringing Out the Dead review by Timmy B

Bringing Out The Dead is an extremely strange beast. It is in many ways a weird cousin of Taxi Driver, not only in it's strange, desperately-seeking-meaning protagonist (imagine if Travis Bickle was slightly more mentally stable & trained as a paramedic after being honourably discharged;) but also the idiosyncratic segways that the film lurches into, as well as a vehicle being the critical thing driving the plot forward (in this case an ambulance.) You can see in an instant why Scorsese was attracted to the material, as well as the chance to reunite with Paul Schrader. But the results for me were in no way the home run you'd expect.

Frank Pierce (Cage) is a burnt-out, mentally depleted paramedic who is based in Manhattan, mainly working the graveyard shifts. In his 5-year career, he has experienced every horrendous situation you can imagine, as well as losing huge numbers of people (who would never have been able to be brought back anyways.) One patient in particular has started to relentlessly haunt him, a young woman called Rose who he was not able to save and blamed himself for. Over the course of 48 hours, we witness Frank's slow descent into oblivion, as well as his desperation to find a meaningful connection with Mary, the daughter of a patient Frank is called to.

As much as there is the incredible imagery which was started in Taxi Driver & continued on here, as well as amazing performances from not only Cage but Rhames, Sizemore and Arquette, I was never completely taken in with the story. In a very strange sense, I mostly felt like I was an outsider, looking in on the story and never fully engaged with it. Normally with a Scorsese film, you are transfixed and taken in within the first few frames, even if I don't end up liking the film overall (Wolf of Wall Street being one example.) But not for one second did I have that with this.

There was plenty of religious imagery, as well as certain scenes which gently reminded you that Scorsese was originally going to become a priest before he stepped behind the camera. But never was I fully engaged with what was on screen. And in another interesting way, it is in no way the fault of the actors. Cage really did look like a man who was on the edge of a mental breakdown, as well as not having had sleep for days (the bags under his eyes bulging out & becoming more prominent as the time ticked on.) Ving Rhames was another highlight, his cigar-chewing religious paramedic a brilliant foil for some of the people they meet out on the streets.

But when the credits eventually rolled, as much as I'd enjoyed the journey, hence my 3 stars, it wasn't a film which stayed with me, which is even more crazy considering the breadth of talent involved both behind and in front of the camera. I never thought I'd see myself writing this, but Martin Scorsese has made a film which is mediocre...