Ladder 49 (2004) August 11, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Jay Russell
Opening on an emergency call of the most dangerous nature, Ladder 49 wastes no time bringing us into the world of a Baltimore fire department crew and the perils they face daily. It’s a well made film with the rescue sequences standing out as being particularly exciting. But there’s also a nice human element to the story which, although slightly clichéd, works nicely in this setting.
We meet Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) a fire-fighter who becomes trapped in a burning industrial building after saving a helpless man. As he faces death, we track back to when he joined the firehouse as a ‘rookie’ and the important events in his life which have brought him to this point. So, and here come the clichés, we see him meeting his future wife, the first fire fight, his wedding, the perilous rescues & the tragic turns. I don’t think the use of these obvious storytelling elements hurt the movie too much, because they are all built around what Jack would be thinking about in his situation – the important things, the life-changing moments that define a person.
Every so often the story moves back to the present and we see the attempts by his colleagues, lead by station chief John Travolta, to rescue him. These scenes act as breaks in order to bridge the flashbacks, but they are just as important to the overall story. The ending is mixed with a touch of post 9/11 respect that is inevitable in a movie like this, but it certainly makes you stop and think about the risk these men face every day.
I enjoyed Ladder 49, maybe more than I was expecting to. Nice performances, personable characters, and fire sequences that aren’t over-the-top. In fact it’s generally quite a grounded film, and you get a nice insight into their roller coaster days: joking around in the firehouse one minute, then speeding down the road the next. Shots that stay in my mind are the ones showing the stillness of the station after they have just raced out on a call – shoes abandoned on the floor, hoses swinging, empty space. A nice touch in an already enjoyable movie.
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