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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1999)
Page 12 ■ Daily Nebraskan ■ Wednesday, October 27,1999 Dead- uneven yet good Martin Scorsese film By Samuel McKewon Senior editor Twenty-three years ago, director Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader drove us through their ver sion of hell - the mean streets of New York - in “Taxi Driver.” Their new collaboration, “Bringing Out the Dead,” is the trip back. Understand, . nearly every Scorsese movie has been filmed in or is about New York. But this film in particular, which stars Nicolas Cage as a burned-out ambulance driver, holds a significant link to the earlier classic: Both movies are played out through the main character’s narra tion from the driver’s side window. But like most return trips in cine ma, “Bringing Out the Dead” is longer yet less cohesive, uneven and ultimately not as good as its predeces sor. Scorsese and Schrader are 23 years older now, and that has taken off some of their edge. The movie isn’t without the typi cal flashes of brilliance that happen every time these two get together, though. “Bringing Out the Dead” is about Cage’s Frank Pierce, a paramedic who lives and dies every night right along with the emergency patients he tends to. Frank tells us he’s good at what he does, maybe one of the best on the streets. But the losses in his business always outweigh the number of those who live, and Frank is getting to the point where he can’t let them go. The film has little more structure than that, as it builds to no particular climax, reaches no epiphany and, other than Frank’s inner demons, has no real antagonists. It is, simply, a film that meanders through a three day weekend shift of Frank’s life. We see him with three wildly dif Him Review na Facts Tltto: "Bringing Out the Dead” Director: Martin Scorsese Rating: R (blood, violence and ail other things bom Scorsese) Stare: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, Ving Rhames, John Goodman Grade: B Five Words: "Dead” imperfect but captivating journey ferent driving partners (John Goodman, Ving Rhames and Tom Sizemore). We see him save the life of a heart-attack victim. We see him comfort that man’s estranged daugh ter (real-life wife Patricia Arquette) as she battles with a past drug addic tion and guilt about her father. We see Frank as he hears the voices and views the faces of past victims every where he turns. “Bringing Out the Dead” doesn’t erect a plot - it takes us to meet peo ple. The homeless. The club hoppers. The drug addicts. Their dealers. The streetwalkers. Few subcultures that are part of modem inner-city life go unexamined, leaving out the more fortunate souls who live in high rises or in suburbia to a different, less hec tic group of drivers. Schrader’s script, based on a novel by Joe Connelly, is two-fold in its treatment: It is a survival guide for the streets and a journey full of religious symbolism. The survival guide is easy to spot - the movie is littered with the dark humor and cynicism needed to shuttle the drivers and the viewer from emergency to emer gency. The religious undertones are more difficult to see but are nonethe less important. The script hints that Frank’s life, in many ways, mirrors that of Jesus, specifically considering Courtesy Photo NICOLAS CASE stare as an ambulance driver in Martin Scorsese’s newest film, “Bringing Out the Dead.” the three-day time frame of die film. There are other religious gems, more fun to pick out than to name here. As usual, Scorsese wields the camera as well as any director in our time, mixing the surreal with the bru tal and irony with reality. The shots of the horns and sirens get a little old, though - the movie’s a little too flashy for its own good. A few shots, such as a side shot of Frank’s ambulance rolling down the street toward the horizon, exist simply for cinematic exuberance, and they don’t disap point. Cage, always willing to look like he just fell off the paddy wagon, is decent as Frank. It’s an uneven and difficult performance he must give, and, as Nicolas Cage usually does, he delivers the big lines a lot better than the subtle ones. As the sullen daughter, Arquette provides a fuller role; she finally acts in a film up to par with her ability. The supporting cast varies from quietly effective (Goodman) to one note insanity (Sizemore). One bit role worth noting is that of singer Marc Anthony, an injury-riddled head case who really wants a glass of water. Scorsese himself is the voice of the faceless dispatcher. “Bringing Out the Dead” isn’t perfect. It lacks the inner drive of its older companion, “Taxi Driver.” It lacks wiry Robert De Niro’s stunning performance. And Scorsese and Schrader, while more literate and stylish than they used to be, pulled themselves too far out of the muck with camera tricks and double enten dres for the movie to work as a gritty testament to those who prowl the streets to save lives. It’s a distant movie, not particularly memorable, but good nonetheless. If there’s one director who can coast on talent, it’s Scorsese. He does a little bit here, so some things slide. But “Bringing Out the Dead” is still a good dose of well-grounded cinema aimed at championing salvation in the midst of so much death. ‘Hard’ too problematic to work By JoshKrauter Senior staff writer John Huckert’s directorial debut, “Hard,” is a confused and ultimately unsuccessful film. It tries to be a stylized, sexual thriller with complex characters, but the inex perience of the director and most of the actors makes “Hard” an amateurish pro duction with only flashes of excellence. “Hard” is the story of a gay detec tive, Raymond Vates (Noel Palomaria), who keeps his homosexuality from his fellow officers and his occupation from the patrons of the gay bar he frequents. He always has to hide something, no matter where he is. Vates is new as a detective, having just received a promotion, and he is paired with experienced officer Tom Ellis (Charles Lanyer). Ellis is tough on Vates at first, but fortunately the “odd couple” buddy cop cliche isn’t used for long. The pair are on the trail of a serial killer who is raping and murdering young male hustlers. The killer, Jack (Malcom Moorman), picks up Vates at a bar, and the pair go to Vates’ apartment for sec. When Vates is asleep, Jack handcuffs him to the bed and steals his badge. Jack plants the badge on one of his victims, implicating Vates. Vates is suspended and questioned on suspicion of murder, which forces him to come out in order to get his job back and clear his name. The most compelling scenes follow. Ellis stands by Vates as a good detective and supports his decision to come out. The other officers taunt Vates, vandalize his car and beat him. While Vates and Ellis plunge into the task of tracking down Jack, the rest of the force is lack luster about helping a gay cop or solving the killings of street hustlers. These scenes show what the film might have been. Palomaria, whose act ing skills are less than good otherwise, shows the ugliness of homophobia. Lanyer, the only actor with previous film experience, is also good through out. And homophobia in law enforce ment is not explored much in film. Too many problems mar the rest of the film. Moorman is one-dimensional and wooden as the serial killer. He comes across as more of an obnoxious jerk than an unhinged psychopath. The script is a muddled mess. For every intelligent, well-written line, there "costume comes! at 10:30 Cash Prizes & Trophies ** Balloon Drop a! Midnight Prize Coupon in Every Balloon “Chink Specials 8 pm to Midnight Monster Mash with On The Frits Brad Starts at 9pm At The Royal Grove I 340 W. Cornhusker Hwy.l Lincoln, ME 4744332 » DOOR CH**G£ * NOT ttt HJU. COSTUME iisk Him Review no Facts Title: “Hard" Director: John Huckert Rating: Unrated (graphic violence, language and nudity) Stars: Noel Palomaria, Malcolm Moorman, Charles Lanyer, Michael Waite Grade: C Five Words: Police thriller full of problems is one like the speech Jack gives for why he kills young gay hustlers: “I am their future. I am what they will become.” Lines such as these belong in cartoons and B-movies, not serious dramas. The violence is sometimes needed but sometimes gratuitous, such as when the aftermath of someone shooting him self in the head is shown. The film has been drawing compar isons to David Fincher’s “Seven,” but “Seven’s” bleak, atmospheric cine matography, sense of style and shot compositions are way ahead of “Hard’s” muddy, thrown-together amateurism. The film that “Hard” really bears resemblance to is William Friedkin’s 1980 film, “Cruising,” which starred A1 Pacino as a straight cop going under cover in fringe, gay S&M clubs to find a serial killer. While that film has been derided as homophobic, it is a truly frightening, thought-provoking film. “Hard” attempts to hit that film’s level of suspense but only occasionally succeeds. And while “Hard” has been praised for exposing homophobia in police departments, none of the gay characters are favorably portrayed. Even Palomaria’s character, while a good cop and a likable person, has a series of one-night stands and no inter est in a meaningful relationship. “Hard” isn’t a bad film. However, the bad acting, inconsistent script and mixed messages make it not a very good one, either.