Bringing Out the Dead (1999): Dir: Martin Scorsese / Cast: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore, John Goodman: About the weariness of a soul that needs rest. Nicolas Cage plays a paramedic haunted by the images of a young woman he failed to save. He sees all sorts of people arrive through the medical room doors, many who deliberately cause their own pain. He feels trapped and needs a moment of refuge. An emergency call results in the image of a family that watch in horror as their father lay unconscious. Insightful film about our decaying society. Another New York based masterpiece by Martin Scorsese whose street sense films include Taxi Driver and After Hours. Wonderful performance by Cage with Patricia Arquette as the daughter of a victim whom he connects with through her need of rest from drugs and relationships. Hilarious performances by John Goodman, Ving Rhames and Tom Sizemore as three paramedic that accompany Cage through three long nights of turmoil. Goodman is totally about where to eat, while Cage attempts to drown it out with sleep. Rhames bursts with religious enthusiasm in hopes of making his mark on one's soul. Sizemore tends to be abusive particularly with those whom he sees as lost causes. Then there is Arquette, which is where Cage finds refuge. Theme regards exhaustion of life itself and our desire for peace and rest. Score: 10 / 10

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.

"Saving someone's life is like falling in love. The best drug in the world. God has passed through you. Why deny it, that for a moment there, God was you?"Bringing Out the Dead presents a dark and bleak view of New York City as we get to experience it through the main character's depressive perception. Working as an ambulance paramedic, Frank Pierce has always found purpose in his life in saving others, but after not being able to save a young girl and feeling haunted by her ghost he has lost his passion and begins to question his existence. The torment he is experiencing leads him to an identity crisis that impacts the way he (and therefore we the audience) sees the city. Martin Scorsese gets all the technical aspects of the film right, teaming up with his usual collaborators: the cinematography done by Robert Richardson and the editing by Thelma Schoonmaker, but somehow the story doesn't work as well. I understand what he was trying to do, but I just couldn't care for the characters in this film and it all felt a little too surreal for my taste. This is the first film from Scorsese that I've seen that hasn't worked for me, but I do have to give him credit for delivering on the technical aspects. There are also some great moments and some supporting performances that worked really well for me, but it only made me wish the film focused on those characters instead of on Frank. The unique way in which the city was portrayed through Frank's eyes as he's dealing with his personal demons and nightmares really never engaged me because I didn't care for his character. His partners on the other hand were much more engaging and I wish we could've seen it through their eyes instead. The screenplay was adapted by Paul Schrader from Joe Connelly's novel of the same name. This was Schrader and Scorsese's fourth and final collaboration together after having worked in Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. Bringing Out the Dead is perhaps most similar to Taxi Driver in tone, but it is a departure from most of his work considering its surreal and nightmarish tone. The film follows Frank Pierce (Nicolas Cage) as he drives across New York City in his ambulance during the night shifts. It's a two man ambulance team although his partners switch every night. Frank is completely burned out considering he hasn't been able to save anyone over the past few weeks and is eagerly awaiting to be fired. His partners don't seem to be experiencing the same problem as they all seem to deal with their demons in different ways. There's Larry (John Goodman) who is constantly thinking about food, Marcus (Ving Rhames) who is a religiously devoted man, and Tom (Tom Sizemore) who borderlines on psychotic behavior. They work for Mercy Hospital, which is always full of wacky characters and very crowded. Frank begins to fraternize with the daughter of one of the patients he brings in, her name is Mary (Patricia Arquette), and she seems to be the only good thing about his job now. Tormented by the ghosts of those he couldn't save, he searches for his salvation through trying to help Mary and saving both of them in the process. Despite not enjoying this film as much as I have other Scorsese movies, I have to admit that there were some incredibly entertaining scenes. Ving Rhames has an amazing scene along Nicolas Cage and one of the patients they are trying to save. It was hilarious. He was by far my favorite character in the film. Patricia Arquette was also pretty interesting, and Cliff Curtis also had a couple of great scenes as Cy. Those were the highlights for me in an exhilarating and fast paced film that failed to engage me with the main character played by Cage. Scorsese does manage to capture the chaos and darkness of the city in a very unique way and the technical brilliance of this film stand out above the story. It's a demented film, but it just wasn't my type of movie because the story was emotionally uninvolving. I will give it credit for the hilarious scenes, but I was let down by the lack of an engaging story.

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.