Review of Jacob's Ladder (1990) by Luna P — 15 Mar 2009

The first time I saw JACOB'S LADDER, I was 14, and started watching it around three in the morning, I think. (That's what you did in those days). Unfortunately, I couldn't hack it, and fell asleep ten minutes before the end.

It was years before I watched it again and saw the ending. That's a shame, because a) It's the type of film that builds entirely to the 'twist' ending, and b) the twist is actually quite effective (or at least it was for me).

The story takes a page from Ambrose Bierce's short story 'An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge' with Tim Robbins as a likable Vietnam vet-turned-postal worker who's returned to the city and started a new life with his girlfriend, Jezzie, despite being haunted by flashbacks of his old life, mysterious figures on the subway, and attacks that might be seizures.

Adrian Lyne's a talented director who should work more, and he builds an atmosphere that feels slick, but organic--focusing on the reality of situations and using camera tricks to make the viewer unsure of what they just saw--mirroring Tim Robbin's confusion as he slips back and forth through Time and Space, his situation deteroriating.

Is he being hunted by demons? Is he the victim of a military experiment and cover up? What does Maculay Culkin have to do with any of it? The questions are actually resolved in satisfying fashion by the end of the film, but Lyne throws in some intensely unpleasant set pieces, first.

Notable are a party at Jacob and Jezzie's apartment and a trip to the hospital gone horribly wrong. The supporting cast is compellingly odd as well. Danny Aiello is good as a sympathetic chiropractor, and Elizabeth Pena is strong as Jezzie.

Ving Rhames, Jason Alexander and blink-and-you'll-miss-him Lewis Black are in there as well.