30 Second Bottom Line: We follow an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for three rounds on his night shift as he tries to save lives. The job is never done, and he's totally stressed out. We see how his "patients" perceive him.
Story Line: Frank (Nicolas Cage) is an EMT in NYC, and he's in a funky depression. It's been a long time since he saved anyone. The first night we meet his partner Larry (John Goodman), and they make a call to resuscitate the father of Mary (Patricia Arquette, Cage's wife in real life). Frank and Mary develop a relationship, as depression is something they have in common. She has been drug free for two years. Mary is estranged from her father, who a week ago she wanted dead, but now she wants to speak to him again.
Larry has learned to cope with the everlasting stress of the job by focusing on eating. Marcus (Ving Rhames), Frank's partner on day two, is a jovial, outgoing person, because of his flirtations with the radio dispatcher, and the belief that every person he saves is a message from Jesus. Walls (Tom Sizemore) is the partner on day three, who sees most of the people he helps as "enemies of the state" who have brought misery upon themselves.
As Frank drives the streets of NYC at night, he sees the face of a young woman he was not able to save because of a mistake he made when he was with Larry. This haunts him, and he is desperate to save someone. He wants to be fired, but has no where to go.
Bringing Out the Dead could be called bringing in the dead, as even for those who live, it seems that their souls are not alive, and that they are just taking up space on earth.
Watching this movie is like seeing a good documentary about the hard times in life. Beautifully filmed, the griminess of the streets doesn't seem as unforgiving as we know to be the case. When Frank tells Marcus that things could not get any worse, Marcus replies "It can always get worse", and smiles with an all knowing grin.
Mary's stress level goes from sky high to outer space, because her father is being kept technically alive with innumerable code blues. He communicates to Frank with his eyes telling him it's time to go. To save him, is to let him go.
Mary seeks relief by contacting her former drug dealer, Cy (Cliff Curtis). Frank finds Mary with Cy, who suggests that Frank try a pill called "Red Lion". This leads to a series of bizarre events and a powerful conclusion to the movie.
Tell Me More About It: Almost all of the scenes are filmed at night. The picture of a large city at night is not always a pretty one. The ER at the hospital in Bringing Out the Dead is not the orderly chaos of "ER" on television. An admitting nurse intersperses the conversation with her thoughts on how the patient's lifestyles are the reason for their being at the hospital.
The stress of EMT's is similar to that of police work, and very relevant to the world we live in. When you look at Marcus and Walls, you can't help but think about the stress some the police officers are under when they deal with so much negativity day after day. While the film makes you think of big cities like New York and Chicago, there are clearly other taunts beneath the surface. For example, Highland Park, a wealthy Chicago suburb, with a low crime rate, has been brought into the national spotlight because of it's systematic targeting to harass minorities. This does not come from being on the street dealing with the dregs of society, but is hate with a smile. These are the types of things that lead to the persecution of Jews in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's. It happened there, and it can happen here. If there is a message here, it's that diversity is something that needs to be taken seriously, even embraced.
Bringing Out the Dead is like a good book, as there are multiple layers of entertainment, and something to be learned. The difference is that you read a book at your own pace, while the movie dictates the speed of the trip. Feeling the stress in a book is tolerable because you can control the pace. This is not an easy movie to watch. You smile, you never laugh, because it's not funny. While this comes out of Hollywood with a mainstream multiplex release, it's really an art house film.
Bringing Out the Dead is a film that is entertaining, insightful, and it makes you think. These are key ingredients for a movie I rank as one of the best of the year; but check your frame of mind before you sign up to ride.
Mini Filmography
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