| 'Dead' brings out emotions, remorse Friday November 5, 1999
ÒBringing Out the DeadÓ
By Patrick Carr In his new film "Bringing Out the Dead," Martin Scorsese masterfully conveys a mood of both moral and urban decay. The movie stars Nicolas Cage in his best performance since "Leaving Los Vegas." His character, Frank Pierce, works as a New York City ambulance driver and, over a three-day period, comes to grips with his feelings of remorse and desperation. Cage gives a moving and heartfelt performance no other actor could have portrayed so effectively. He looks as though he hasn't eaten or slept for days and does an excellent job conveying his character's mood swings from depression and self-loathing to desperation. Both thematically and visually the film resembles some of Scorsese's earliest films such as "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver." Like them, He films "Bringing Out the Dead" on New York City's grittiest streets and deals with themes of guilt and redemption. In exploring these themes, the film should have given a little more attention to explaining how Frank came to feel the desperation that he has at the beginning of the film and providing more information concerning the reasons for his visions of the ghost of a dead patient. Taking the late-night shift, Frank drives his ambulance amid junkies, prostitutes and the homeless. These bleak surroundings reflect Frank's inner feelings. At one point he remarks that the only bad part about taking the credit for saving a person's life is that it means you must also take the blame if the person dies.. And, indeed, Frank has had many patients die under his care. The resulting depression begins to reach its breaking point as the film opens. He begs each day to be fired, starts to drink heavily and sees visions of a patient who died under his care. A different partner joins Frank each of the three nights. Like Frank, each partner - played by John Goodman ("The Big Lebowski"), Ving Rhames ("Out of Sight") and Tom Sizemore ("Saving Private Ryan") - is troubled by his chaotic surroundings and the enormous responsibilities his job involves. Of these three, the character of Marcus, played by Rhames, is certainly the most memorable. Rhames' portrayal of Marcus as zealously religious and yet threatening provides some of the film's few instances of humor . A novel by Joe Connelly serves as the base for the film. Former Scorsese collaborator, Paul Schrader (screenwriter of "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull" and "The Last Temptation of Christ") adapted the story to film. The minor weaknesses are almost entirely overshadowed by the film's top-notch visual style and acting that help make "Bringing Out the Dead" Scorsese's best film since "GoodFellas." |