Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
Once called "Father Frank" for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank Pierce sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he couldn't help, yet cannot quit the job on his own.
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Sorry, this movie sucks
Better Late Then Never
A Masterpiece!
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Along with After Hours in all possibility the most underrated Martin Scorsese movie. Bringing out the dead is an extremely well-made film by a master filmmaker and ably acted by underrated Nicholas Cage and supported by the likes of Vhing Rames and John Goodman. Taking place in a span of three nights this is a dark comedy which is bound to become a cult classic soon. 9/10 (Go watch for the magic of Martin Scorsese).
I think he gives his best performance. He plays an ambulance driver who's so disoriented with driving at night and saving lives that he hallucinates and has trouble comprehending reality with fantasy. It was directed by Martin Scorsese in I say his most underrated movie.
This is a film based off atmosphere. You legitimately feel Frank's stress and how tiring being a NY medic can be. The film slowly tires you in a way not different from having the job. The comedy from the film comes from the other medics played by John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore and their interactions with Cage. A few other comedic scenes include I.B. Banging, worst suicide attempt ever, and "Hold this or I won't kill you!". It really feels more like a David Fincher film than Martin Scorsese. Perhaps it's just the look, but I am serious. Some scenes do well portray the hardship of death to a medic. There is some supernatural element which is strangely enticing. Check it out.
Well, I tend to admire everything that Martin Scorsese does, mostly after the controversial 1991's "Cape Fear". However, for my taste, "Bringing Out the Dead" isn't one of his best works. You know, it's not that his direction is poor or anything, but the story just doesn't deliver. Nicolas Cage plays a paramedic that supposedly goes into major problems after facing with death for so many times. However, the movie doesn't make it feel like his character was going crazy or anything. Also, it doesn't have a big moment in which the spectator could be waiting for, turning it into a vague story with a good directing, that sadly couldn't save the whole thing. Some scenes are entertaining and occasionally moving, but that's the minority of them. I'm giving it six stars considering it has an original plot and a professional directing, otherwise I would give it a much lower rating. Passable.