Review of Bringing Out the Dead (1999) by Camden N — 26 Feb 2010

A powerful movie in many ways. Nicolas Cage isn't quite as consistent here as in films like Wild At Heart and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, but he does quite well in the film's quieter moments and (obviously) during the film's crazier ones. As expected Scorsese's direction is solid, and he even managed to fit in a Bava-esque dreams vs. reality sort of sequence at the end! The only thing I didn't really like was a cringe-inducingly obvious religious allusion with a virgin Maria giving birth to twins, but this did lead to one of the movie's more affecting sequences so I'm willing to overlook it.

Having seen how great the fantastical sequences of this film were, I can't wait to see Scorsese really let loose in the more horror-themed Shutter Island! I know it's not straight horror, but it has all the right influences (Bava, Tourneur, etc.).