Nicky is an EMT in New York and can see ghosts. Or at least one ghost of a lady named Rose that he couldn’t save.
He doesn’t eat unless you count eating drugs. He likes to drink like a fish, so at least he’s getting his calories from somewhere. He also didn’t really sleep too much. For being paramedics, none of them seem particularly healthy.
The entire movie is like one giant night scene. I’m pretty sure it takes place of several nights but I wasn’t 100% paying attention. Also hard to fully tell because half of the movie is set inside a New York City emergency room that feels more like a neon-lit military hospital during war time. And not a fun one like MASH, like a real one but with more homeless people and Tom Sizemore is there.
It started to feel like a buddy flick for a second with Nic and John Goodman at the beginning. Then again when Nic and Tom Sizemore go on a drug-addled joy ride in the ambulance (on duty of course) but you’re quickly reminded that this was directed by Scorsese as indicated by the crazy cinematography and scenes that are straight up anxiety fuel. I found it disorienting and slightly hard to watch at times. This is good stuff.
Fun watch, Nicky loses his mind (spoiler alert). Not the completely unhinged Cage that I like to watch, but he’s so damn good at standing out as someone that’s clearly going off the deep end, even against a stacked cast like this movie has. Bonus: Ving Rhames has really cool hair in this one.
Verdict: 👍 Would recommend
DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese
YEAR: 1999
RATING: R
RUN TIME: 2h 1min
FUN FACT: Nic and Marty rode along with actual NYC paramedics in prep for this role. I’m guessing that means that Nic also did shit tons of drugs to gear up for it as well.💊
I have missed this film in cinemas, but I hope to check it on DVD. Heard mixed things, but I like to make my own opinion on the film. Fenelia Alaric Mackey