Bringing Out the Dead

Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Goodman, Patricia Arquette, Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames, Marc Anthony, Cliff Curtis, Mary Beth Hurt, Judy Reyes, Queen Latifah (voice)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An ambulance paramedic (Nicolas Cage) struggles with the job and horrors that won't leave him alone during a rough three-day stretch of work.

Review:

Tim: What exactly was Martin Scorsese doing with Bringing Out the Dead? Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time, and remarkably consistent. This isn't a horrible movie, but it's a clear drop in quality from his usual films. This is a tough movie to wrap your arms around, but there was a lot of potential that went unrealized. Scorsese directs a weird, uneven, and ultimately disappointing film here.

There's definitely something to be said about the basic plot. We follow a paramedic who seems to be at his breaking point. He can't sleep and is haunted by the ghosts of those he tried to save, but failed. While dealing with his most physical and mental concerns, he's tasked with saving peoples' lives, and also falls for the daughter of one of his patients. This is a meaty, fascinating story, and I expected to really like it. Unfortunately, Scorsese tinkers with it far too much, ultimately blunting its overall impact.

This movie is sometimes very hard to watch. I suspect Scorsese was trying to put us in this paramedic's mindset- he was overworked, emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted. We see this by a phantasmagoric hodgepodge of different phenomena- we see the same dead girl over and over again, time is sped up frantically, the camera is turned on its side to disorient us, we see the protagonist hearing the thoughts of the dying, and much more. It's a great attempt to be different, but it's overkill. Our senses are overloaded almost from the get go. This movie is just too out there, too uneven, too bizarre, and not in a good way. I'm all for pushing the envelope, but the audience's sense are just run over here. It's too much, and it distracts from the basic story. Had Scorsese dialed back the insanity a bit, this movie would have been significantly more enjoyable.

Nicolas Cage was surprisingly good in the lead role. Cage really embraced his unbalanced side, and brought it forth in this role. The makeup was quite strong, because he looked absolutely exhausted throughout this film. The role wasn't an easy one, but Cage hits the right notes. I very much enjoyed his performance. Patricia Arquette, on the other hand, adds very little. Any number of other actresses could have done as good or better than her in this role. She added surprisingly little to the film. John Goodman was quite enjoyable, but his role is far too small. He disappears from the film, which very much disappointed me. Ving Rhames is pretty good, but his character never really felt connected to the rest of the film. Tom Sizemore attacks his part with his usual psychotic glee, but in typical Sizemore fashion, he plays the role way too over-the-top. He needed to dial it back. What's most surprising with the cast is the performance of Marc Anthony. Anthony gives a troubled, mesmerizing performance. He's the most memorable actor in the film, and he his character stays with you. I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed his performance here.

The biggest problem is that all Scorsese's craziness detracts from the story. I never felt invested in any of the characters because it was presented too in-your-face and disrupting. I felt at odds with the movie, never connected to it. Now, this isn't to say that the film is worthless- there are some powerful moments in the film, and it is fairly thought-provoking. However, as a whole, the flaws are a bit too overwhelming. Scorsese usually makes longer movies, but even at 121 minutes, this film felt like a chore to sit through.

While I didn't hate Bringing Out the Dead, I really can't claim this is a good movie. Scorsese is a great director, but there's no way to look at this film besides a big misstep from one of the all-time greats.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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