Bringing Out The Dead (1999)
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A depressed New York City paramedic struggles with hallucinations and occupational burnout while navigating the city's underworld.
The story
In Manhattan, paramedic Frank Pierce suffers from depression, insomnia, and occupational burnout after failing to save a homeless teenager. He begins to hallucinate the ghost of the girl. During a shift, Frank and his partner Larry respond to a call for a man in cardiac arrest, where Frank befriends the man's daughter, Mary. As Frank continues his work, he encounters various patients, including a drug addict and a man suffering from an overdose. The film follows Frank's grueling 48-hour shift as he navigates the complexities of life, death, and the city's drug scene.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Frank Pierce, a New York City paramedic haunted by the ghost of a girl he failed to save, works a 48-hour shift in Manhattan. He meets Mary, a former drug addict whose father, Mr. Burke, is in cardiac arrest. Frank also encounters Noel, a delinquent drug addict, and a man overdosing on 'Red Death' heroin. Frank is eventually paired with Marcus, a religious man who leads prayer circles. After a series of calls, including a tragic birth where one twin dies and a visit to a drug den run by Cy Coates, Frank takes drugs and hallucinates more ghosts. He eventually saves Cy, becoming his first successful rescue in months. However, while visiting Burke again, Frank hears the man's voice pleading for death and chooses to remove his breathing apparatus, causing Burke to die. Frank then finds Mary, hallucinates Rose one last time to obtain her forgiveness, and falls asleep with Mary.
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Martin Scorsese
- Writers
- Paul Schrader · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Nicolas Cage · Frank Pierce; Patricia Arquette · Mary; John Goodman · Mr. Burke; Ving Rhames · Marcus; Tom Sizemore · Cy Coates
- Genres
- psychological drama; supernatural horror; drama
- Themes
- compassion; death; addiction; guilt
- Tone and mood
- compelling; urgent; beautiful
- Premise and plot tags
- medical-themed; supernatural; drug-related
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1998 novel by Joe Connelly
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics but was a disappointment at the box office, grossing just $16 million against its $32 million production budget.
- Production trivia
- It was the final film to be released on LaserDisc in the United States.; The idea of contacting Nicolas Cage came to Martin Scorsese after a conversation with Brian De Palma.; Nicolas Cage singled out the film as one of the best movies he ever made in 2022.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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