Based on the novel by Joe Connelly, Bringing Out the Dead is the story of a paramedic who copes with the lives he’s lost while working the graveyard shift of his job where he later sees ghosts. Directed by Martin Scorsese and screenplay by Paul Schrader, the film is an exploration of a man dealing with the severity of his work as well as his own faults where he would in the worst possible time with different partners. Starring Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Marc Anthony, Mary Beth Hurt, and Tom Sizemore. Bringing Out the Dead is a dark yet evocative film from Martin Scorsese.
Set in the span of three days in the early 1990s, the film revolves around the manic life of a paramedic who works the graveyard shift as he deals with the lives he wasn’t able to save and the emergence of ghosts that he sees including a young woman he wasn’t able to save. Along the way, he would work with three different partners as the craziness of three days would eventually take his toll while he would also encounter the daughter of a man he had just brought in who goes into a coma. Paul Schrader’s script isn’t just the study of a man that is just burned out as he is haunted by the ghost of a young woman whose life he couldn’t save. It’s also in the fact that he’s done this job for five years with mixed results but he past several months haven’t been good.
The script follows the three days in the life of Frank Pierce (Nicolas Cage) who would work with three different partners as well as encounter a strange group of people with only a patient’s daughter that he meets often as the only sense of normalcy he would have. The script also features a voice-over narration from Pierce as it expresses his sense of guilt and loneliness where he doesn’t get a lot of sleep and is numbing himself with alcohol and medication. Since it is set in early 1990s Manhattan in its most seedy and dark, the film also play into a world that is falling apart where a new drug has emerged and society is in chaos. A world that is starting to overwhelm Pierce as he becomes less confident in the lives he is trying to save while the different partners he work with don’t help matters either.
Martin Scorsese’s direction is very atmospheric for the way he presents early 1990s New York City as a world that is teetering on the edge where much of it is shot at night and in the early mornings. It’s a film that has Scorsese not only create something where there is a sense of danger and unpredictability in the course of three days but it’s also in showing a man that is about to fall apart. While Scorsese does include some wide shots and intricate camera angles in much of the shots with the city as its backdrop. Much of the film include mostly medium shots and close-ups to play into the sense of urgency that includes inside the ambulances and in the hospitals were doctors are struggling to save patients. Most notably this old man of a heart attack who keeps going back and forth into life and death as Pierce hears the old man who really just wants to die. Another person that frequently appears in the film is this brain-damaged man named Noel (Marc Anthony) who keeps asking for water as Pierce does whatever he can to help him.
The craziness in some of the moments in and out of the hospital has Scorsese using tracking shots to capture the action in a single take such as what goes on in ICU or what doctors had to do for one patient while several others are waiting. Scorsese does know when to slow things down as it relates to a key sequence in the second half where Pierce hangs out with the former junkie Mary Burke (Patricia Arquette) whose father is fighting for his life. The sequence would also serve as a wake-up call to Pierce as he is about to embark into his third night as it plays into his own revelations about himself and the guilt that consumes him. The film’s third act that includes a lot of manic shots and sequences that play into the craziness of the graveyard shift would say a lot into Pierce’s own views on death but also a chance that he could redeem himself. In the end, Scorsese creates a very eerie yet somber film about a paramedic coping with the insanity and darkness of his work in the span of three crazy nights.
Cinematographer Robert Richardson does phenomenal work with the film‘s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key lights and bits of brightness for many of the exterior scenes at night as well as the more bright look in the hospital scenes as Richardson‘s work is a major highlight of the film. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker does incredible work with the editing where it does rely a lot on style to play up the sense of the craziness of working in the graveyard shift with its jump-cuts, speedy montages, and dissolves. Production designer Dante Ferretti, with set decorator William F. Reynolds and art director Robert Guerra, does excellent work with the look of the hospital wards and ICU rooms to play into the craziness and chaos that occurs as well as that stench of death that looms throughout the film. Costume designer Rita Ryack does nice work with the costumes as it is largely casual that includes the uniforms that Pierce and his team wears.
Special makeup effects artist Manilo Rocchetti does fantastic work with the look of the Noel character with his dreadlocks and ragged look as well as the look of some of the patients Pierce would encounter. Visual effects supervisor Michael Owens does brilliant work with the visual effects as it relates to the manic hallucinations that Pierce sees including the ghosts as it relates to those whose lives he couldn‘t save. Sound editor Philip Stockton does superb work with the sound in creating some unique sound textures to play into the craziness of the streets and locations as well as the way the ambulance sounds when it is on the road. The film’s music by Elmer Bernstein is excellent as it is mostly low-key to play into the drama with its orchestral-based score as it also helps set the dark mood into the film. The film’s music soundtrack largely consists a diverse array of music from Van Morrison, Johnny Thunders, R.E.M., UB40, the Marvelettes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Big Brother & the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, the Who, and the Clash.
The casting by Ellen Lewis is great as it features notable small roles from Michael K. Williams as a drug dealer who is dying over this mysterious drug, Cullen O. Johnson as the dying man Mr. Burke, Afemo Omilami as the hospital police guard Griss, Arthur J. Nascarella as Pierce’s boss Captain Barney, Julyana Soelistyo as Sister Fetus, Cynthia Roman as the ghostly young woman named Rose who is stalking Pierce, Phyllis Sommerville as Mary’s mother, Harper Simon as a rock star who had overdosed on this new drug, Judy Reyes as a ICU nurse, Sonja Sohn as a friend of Mary in Kanita, and as two different dispatchers that Pierce would listen to in Queen Latifah and Martin Scorsese. Other notable small roles include Aida Turturro as a nurse who is trying to keep up with the chaos of patients coming in, Nestor Serrano as the doctor who is looking after one patient after another, Mary Beth Hurt as a nurse who talks to patients in a very cynical yet comical manner, and Cliff Curtis as a drug dealer friend of Mary who gives Pierce a drug in an attempt to help him.
Marc Anthony is excellent as the troubled Noel as a brain-damaged man who constantly asks for water while being a danger to himself where Pierce is one of the few who actually tries to help him. John Goodman is fantastic as Pierce’s first partner Larry who is good at job though can be unreliable but is also the most level-headed guy that Pierce works with as he is aiming to become a captain. Ving Rhames is superb as Pierce’s second partner Marcus as stoic but cynical man that likes to preach Bible quotes as he is aware of Pierce’s depression and weariness only to not really make things any better. Tom Sizemore is brilliant as Pierce’s former partner Tom Wolls who would become his partner in the third act who is just as crazy in his thirst for blood while being the one guy who is more about the ride and chaos rather than saving lives.
Patricia Arquette is amazing as Mary Burke as a former junkie who deals with her father who might be dying or not as well as her own guilt about her relationship with her father where she befriends Pierce as the two both embark into their own journey into guilt and coping with death. Finally, there’s Nicolas Cage in a marvelous performance as Frank Pierce as this paramedic who is burned out, depressed, and guilt-ridden where he tries to deal with his work for three crazy nights in the graveyard shift where it is Cage being manic and somber as well as displaying a vulnerability to a man that is just about to crack.
Bringing Out the Dead is a remarkable film from Martin Scorsese. Featuring an eerie script by Paul Schrader, haunting visuals, a killer soundtrack, and a great ensemble cast led by Nicolas Cage. The film is dark yet intense film about a man teetering on the edge as he tries to save lives in the very late nights where he also deals with the specter of death. In the end, Bringing Out the Dead is a phenomenal film from Martin Scorsese.
Martin Scorsese Films: (Who’s That Knocking on My Door?) - (Street Scenes) - Boxcar Bertha - (Mean Streets) - Italianamerican - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Taxi Driver - New York, New York - American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince - (The Last Waltz) - Raging Bull - The King of Comedy - After Hours - The Color of Money - The Last Temptation of Christ - New York Stories-Life Lesson - Goodfellas - Cape Fear (1991 film) - The Age of Innocence - (A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies) - (Casino) - (Kundun) - (My Voyage to Italy) - (The Blues-Feel Like Going Home) - Gangs of New York - (The Aviator) - No Direction Home - The Departed - Shine a Light - Shutter Island - (A Letter to Elia) - (Public Speaking) - George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Hugo - The Wolf of Wall Street - (The 50 Year Argument) - Silence (2016 film) - (The Irishman)
© thevoid99 2016
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/7/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.
Directed by Leon Ichaso and written by Ichaso, David Darmstaeder, and Todd Anthony Bello, El Cantante is the story about legendary salsa singer Hector Lavoe who was considered one of the forefathers of the salsa music scene as the film chronicles his rise in the 1960s and 1970s to his fall in the 1980s and his death in 1993. The film is a dramatization about Lavoe's life as well as his turbulent relationship with his wife Puchi who is played by Jennifer Lopez with Latin pop singer Marc Anthony as Lavoe. Also starring Federico Castelluccio, John Ortiz, and Glenda Dopazo. El Cantante for all of its energy is a messy and very unoriginal film from Leon Ichaso.
It's 2002 as Puchi is walking for an interview to tell the life of her late husband Hector Lavoe. Born Hector Juan Perez Martinez in Puerto Rico, Hector had lost his mother early in his life and his brother a few years before in the 1960s as he set to leave his beloved home for New York City. Arriving into the city, he meets Eddie (Manny Perez) who both sneak in to get into a club where he caught a glimpse of Puchi while ended up singing for a bit at the club. A few months later, he becomes the singer for the club band as he grabs the attention of Willie Colon (John Ortiz) and a label head named Jerry Masucci (Federico Castelluccio). Masucci hopes to form a label that would be the Latin equivalent to Motown while bringing a new sound to the people. With Willie Colon's talents for writing and being a bandleader, Hector changes his last name to Lavoe and by 1965, a revolution began.
Despite his emerging success, Hector continues to battle his own insecurities as he eventually falls for Puchi despite her street-wise personality that often causes conflict with his sister (Glenda Dopazo). Despite their tumultuous relationship, they would eventually marry in the late 60s and gained a son named Tito. For all of the success that Hector gains both personally and professionally, Hector's demons lead him to an addiction to heroin that was introduced to him by both Eddie and Willie. By the 70s, Hector continues to be successful with Willie Colon as salsa starts to break through with the duo and their band the Fania All Stars. Their success would also lead them to sell out venues including Madison Square Garden in NYC.
It was also in this time that Hector's addiction starts to take its toll as his marriage to Puchi becomes troublesome while her presence in the studios and shows would often be more troubling. Finally in 1973, Willie Colon decides to quit touring as he found Hector's lateness to gigs to be a hassle. With Hector going solo in the late 70s, he continues to have success but his addition would also give him trouble as eventually, Puchi starts to have affairs. Finally, he couldn't take his addiction where in 1979, Puchi took him to a spiritual doctor hoping to cleanse him where for a while. He seemed fine as he continues to tour and be with his family including son Tito (Christopher Becerra at 14 & Bernard Hernandez at 17/18) but his relationship with Puchi remains troubled. Finally, a relapse ensued during the mid and late 80s as it would take tragedy, estrangement, and the AIDS virus to wake him up. Yet, demons managed to lurk on as Hector tries to find some amount of redemption.
A film version of the life of a musician has a formula that is often followed. The artist comes from a humble or poor background, moves to the big city, struggles a bit, becomes big, finds love, and then everything falls apart through drugs, declining sales, and such. This is the formula the film and director Leon Ichaso seems to rely on. Not that it's a bad formula but the problem is that there's so much in the story from the script that really doesn't emphasize on. While it's understandable that Lavoe had issues with depression and drug abuse due to family deaths early on and some insecurities yet the screenwriters didn't go deep enough into that. At the same time, the story about Lavoe's relationship with Puchi really takes it toll where they love each other, they hate each other, they love each other, and so on. It becomes a pattern that doesn't go anywhere. There's not even a moment when they're just being normal, not fighting, or doing any kind of bad things. It's often dramatized to the point that the script offers nothing for the audience to not only be engaged by them but reasons to sympathize with them as they're always unlikeable from start to finish.
Then there's the direction that is really uneven. Leon Ichaso has some excellent sequence that involves the performances of Hector Lavoe and his personality where publicly, he's funny, he charismatic, he's a womanizer of sorts, and all of these things. That part should've been kept yet when it delves into reality. It doesn't work. Now, in the hands of a more experienced director, the sequences with drugs wouldn't become a cliche as it would handle with some subtlety. Unfortunately, Ichaso emphasizes on style rather than substance where it takes a scene from Taylor Hackford's 2004 bio-pic Ray about Ray Charles in that similar motif of grainy photography and fast-cuts to show the world of addiction. It becomes total cliche and after a few of those scenes, it's very heavy-handed to the point that the audience becomes already aware of what is going on.
Another sequence that really fails and definitely takes a lot away from the film is the black-and-white interview sequence with Puchi. While the film is told from her perspective, it's a narrative device that doesn't work at all. It seems like she's trying to tell his story and her importance to his life. Yet, she starts rambling on and on about how great and how flawed he is. Why she is important to him. It doesn't go anywhere and it's an entire sequence that should've been cut from the entire film. Ichaso's emphasis on style to tell the story of Lavoe really fails. Even through the time sequences where it moves from 1960 through 1980 and at times, the audience doesn't know what year it is or when all of this is happening. That lack of awareness makes that part of the film totally inconsistent and confusing to the audience. The result is a messy, uneven film that dropped the ball during the second act.
The cinematography of Claudio Chea is very stylized with bits of grainy film footage mixed in with heavy colors that are a bit fuzzy. Yet, it doesn't work since the emphasis on style gets overdone while shots of Puerto Rico are at times, too tinted for the look while in NYC, everything looks a bit dark. Ichaso or Chea were trying to make the film look gritty but it just ends up bringing some uninspired work. The editing of David Tedeschi and Raul Marchand suffers through Ichaso's direction and some sequences would have very fast cuts that really become dizzying while there's no sense of life or emotion through those cuts. It's awful throughout despite the rhythm of the live performances of Lavoe. Production designer Sharon Lomofsky does a nice job with the film's look that is Puerto Rican in some of the film's first half but by the time it reaches the second act where Lavoe is rich, it becomes uninspiring while it's unclear if all of couches, furniture, and all of that are from the 80s or now.
Costume designer Sandra Hernandez does some nice work with the film's costumes that play well to a certain period though at times, it ends up looking silly to see J-Lo in one of her clothes while her hairstyle would emphasize what period she's in as an attempt to make each hairdo a sign of her aging. It doesn't work since she looks the same throughout. The music by Andres Levin with contribution by Willie Colon does play very well to the Latin rhythms with music from the 70s and 80s playing at times to show what period they’re in. The soundtrack that features many of Colon's work with Lavoe as well as Lavoe's solo work is a definite highlight. With Marc Anthony performing those songs, it works to show the kind of humor and tragedy of what Lavoe is singing as it's the only part of the film that hits the mark right in its head in terms of authenticity.
The casting is interesting with a lot of actors playing parts yet there's so many, it's hard to find a standout. Christopher Becerra and Bernard Hernandez are good as the different versions of Tito, the son who is trying to win his father's love despite the interference of his mother. Manny Perez is good as Lavoe's friend Eddie with Glenda Dopazo as Lavoe's sister who doesn't like Puchi. John Ortiz is pretty good as Willie Colon, the man who would be Hector's wingman as he would try to help him get straight and such. Federico Castelluccio is great as label boss Jerry Masucci who also tries to help Hector while enabling his success. Marc Anthony delivers a fantastic performance as Hector Lavoe with his charm and charisma when he's performing. Anthony manages to sell Lavoe's insecurity when he's off the stage but when it comes to the drug scenes, it doesn't totally work. Yet, it's really more of the direction of Ichaso rather than Anthony's performance where it's at fault. Anthony deserves more credit for his performance where he can be very dramatic without overacting while being funny as well. Even in a scene where he's dressed up as Santa Claus or in Charlie Chaplin make-up, there's a real actor in there who proves to be very watchable.
Finally, there's Jennifer Lopez in what has to be one of the most irritating performances ever. Her presence in the film is overwhelming as if she's trying to out-act everyone in the film. While there's a scene that gives her an excuse to shake her booty (that is overrated), several scenes cursing, and having to be in control. It's as if she's trying to be the star of the film when really, her character has to be a supporting role rather than the top lead. The documentary scenes end up being very vain as if she is trying to be the most important character of the film. Her portrayal of Puchi is very poor as if she's either playing a supportive wife or his enabler. Her scenes with Anthony don't really work as her acting is overdone and she tries to dominate any scene he's in and they really don't have chemistry as actors. If there's a real negative thing about this film, it's J-Lo.
Despite its lively soundtrack and some fantastic moments involving the music, El Cantante is a horrible film from Leon Ichaso. Filled with too many cliches, an uneven and tired narrative, formulaic storylines, and extremely unlikable characters. It's a film that is really more an insult rather than a tribute to the life and career of Hector Lavoe who deserves better. In the end, El Cantante is a terrible and overblown film from Leon Ichaso.
© thevoid99 2015
