'The first step is love, the second is mercy'
Bringing out the Dead 7.6
I had read about bringing out the dead once or twice before, whilst reading about Scorsese's back catalog - as you do.
Nic Cage is a paramedic haunted by a fateful decision from his past. We follow him on a few night shifts as he and his partners (the incomparable John Goodman to start with, then Ving Rhames) battle the dregs of society. Alot of the calls they are given from their dispatcher (an immediately recognisable voice of Scorsese) are to drunkards and junkies - their regulars.
As with so many Scorsese classics, the narration plays a big role in the story delivery. We hear via his narration that Nic Cage regards himself as 'good at his job', but what his job is seems to be unclear. We hear him say 'I realised that my training was useful in less than ten percent of the calls. And saving someone's life was rarer than that. After a while, I grew to understand that my role was less about saving lives, and about bearing witness. I was a grief mob. It was enough that I simply showed up'. His melancholic delivery implies that he enthusiastically became a paramedic with promise of a noble part to play in society, but the reality has ground him down to a bitter shell of his former self.
We see, in head on shots, Cage driving the ambulance hunched in the driver's seat with John Goodman next to him, aparently twice his size. He does not cut a confudent figure. He has been torturing himself over the death of an 18 year old homeless girl, Rose, 6 months prior. A fateful decision cost her life, and her ghostly spirit appears to him in visions throughout the film. By watching over the willful passing of another patient - a father - and learning that perhaps death is not always a tragedy, he quenches his demons.
It is impossible not to think of Taxi Driver.. The films are from the same director, editor and writer team, with similar expository narration, and they present a tortured soul in the cesspool of societal decay. But Travis Bickle had an altogether more extreme idea of how to combat the awful state that New York City had got itself into. The city is presented in a similar way, although the high exposure lighting gives it a slightly dreamy quality. For most of the film they can't escape the neon lights in fact - it is one of the feelings that you take away from the film - the headachey fluorescence, made all the more intrusive by the frantic editing. It is also worth mentioning that just as with Taxi Driver, pathetic fallacy is hard at work here. It is always wet, dark and gloomy - which put me in mind of other classics that make use of this like Se7en and Glengarry Glen Ross. Aswell as the visual flair, there is some great sparky dialogue which caught my ear - examples: 'I wheel, you heal', 'youll find a three car accident, 2 taxis and a taxi' and 'Rule number one - dont get involved with patients. Rule number two - don't get involved with patient's daughters'.
There are a few moments of calm throughout all the craziness - they come whenever Cage speaks to Patricia Arquette, the daughter of the dying father. The music stops (or at least becomes much quieter and optimistic), the neon subcides, and they each have a chance to look at another person with no judgement or prior baggage. This punctuated carnage continues until a crash in the ambulance when the film's whole feel changes. It becomes altogether quieter and more friendly. This is of course mirrored in Cage's demeanour, he is getting sentimental, which has an air of impending danger.
There is an interesting moment when a nun is on the street, preaching with a microphone to the ignoring masses. We see a closeup of a necklace she is wearing, with a model of a baby in the fetal position hanging from it. It is a common image of course but from the pose and the head size it is impossible for me not to see it is a nod to the famous 'starchild' from the ending of 2001. This must carry a weight of meaning, but it evades me.
With about 30 minutes to go, I found myself wondering how it could possibly end in a satisfying way, and once it was over, I wasn't sure if it did really. I certainly enjoyed the film. It was well made and well acted. The editing was top notch and dealt with interesting and worthy themes. I was surprised by how good it was and crucially, how unique it was. All of this gives it a high score, however, I have to admit that the impact didn't last long after the film had finished, which is a shame.
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