'Bringing Out The Dead' perfect blend of star, director
By RYAN WILKINSON
Staff Writer
Nicolas Cage and Martin Scorcese: Why didn’t anybody think of this before?
After a slew of mediocre pictures from these two greats, they have finally combined their efforts and the result is the highly amusing horror/drama (and comedy) “Bringing Out the Dead.”
Cage plays paramedic Frank Pierce, who has been pulling graveyard shifts in New York City for five years. The pressure and stress of ambulance operation gets to Pierce after one too many patients have died.
“I hadn’t saved anyone in months, and it was getting to me,” Pierce reveals as he thinks to himself.
His main source of agony comes from a girl, Rose, who dies as Pierce tries to save her. Soon after, he sees her ghost from time to time, with increasing regularity.
Frank soon encounters Mary Burke (Patricia Arquette), the daughter of a heart attack victim he has helped save. He tries to help Mary out, perhaps hoping to help himself deal with his many problems -- hallucinations of dead girls being the most prominent, but only the tip of the iceberg.
Cage is the star of “Bringing Out the Dead,” but the real attraction is the way Scorcese pairs him with a myriad of terrific actors in supporting roles.
As the film opens on a Thursday night, Frank finds himself riding along with Larry, played by John Goodman. Larry is a long-time paramedic who is hoping to be a captain within a year. He has much better coping skills than Pierce, and tries to help his partner. Unfortunately, he is unsuccessful in his latter venture.
Friday night finds Frank in unit number “62 Young” with Marcus, played by Ving Rhames. Marcus uses the Lord to get through the rough spots, with a little help from black cigars and gin. Rhames gives a great performance, showcasing his big, bright grin even through his patients’ emergency pregnancy and a heroin overdose by a singer going by the name I.B. Bangin.
Frank’s final partner is his old friend and first partner Tom Walls, portrayed by Tom Sizemore, recently nominated for an Oscar for his performance in “Saving Private Ryan.”
Unfortunately for the citizens of NYC, Walls holds a deep cynicism (bordering on hatred) for his patients, and has strong violent tendencies.
Through all this mayhem and mischief, Cage transforms himself from a tortured soul (we’ve seen that before) to a lovable psycho, who even resorts to a little recreational use of the chemicals in the back of the ambulance. Forget “City of Angels” and “Con Air.” This is why Nicolas Cage was put on this planet.
Scorsese returns to his classic style that we’ve been waiting for since his glory days of “GoodFellas” and “The Color of Money.” The photography and editing of “Bringing Out the Dead” make it an absolute joy to watch. Comedy and pain mingle perfectly during in the film’s dialogue, making the audience want to laugh and cry at the same time.
Mixing in a great soundtrack, which includes everything from “I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.” by the Clash to Martha and the Vandellas’ “Nowhere to Run,” Scorsese creates a haunting masterpiece, which will thrill his fans, and may even bring in some new ones.
Grade: B+
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Wednesday, October 27, 1999
12:29 PM