Martin Scorsese and Nicolas Cage.

Bringing Out the Dead is one of those films I’ve somehow never reviewed here at How About Notflix even though I’ve seen it more than once. It’s one of those films that makes you say “how the hell have I never heard of this?” And then you realize who made it and who starred in it and you wonder what evil exists in the world that would end with this movie having next to no publicity and bombing miserably in the box office.

Released in 1999, Bringing Out the Dead was directed by Martin Scorsese and no there isn’t some obscure director with the same name running around making films.  It was written by Paul Schrader and is based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Joe Connelly. Joe wrote two books and lives in the mountains now, a place where I’m sure Frank Pierce wishes he could float off to.

Bringing Out the Dead stars Nicolas Cage as Frank Pierce, a paramedic in Manhattan who as you’d expect from any starring actor in a film like this, is running from his past. Frank had a bit of a mishap where he wasn’t able to save a teen girl and it’s put him in a bit of a rut. He’s also hallucinating. It’s a very heartfelt journey of redemption and this is definitely one of those movies to show your friends who don’t think Cage is capable of performing a serious character in a serious movie.

Frank drives with three fellow paramedics over the course of the film each with their own unique personalities. You’ve got Larry played by John Goodman. There is the wonderful Marcus played by Ving Rhames. And then there is Tom Wolls played by Tom Sizemore. Patricia Arquette is in the movie as Mary, the eventual love interest. And there’s even appearances by Marc Anthony, Cliff Curtis, Aida Turturro, Sonja Sohn, Queen Latifah, Judy Reyes as a nurse well before Scrubs, and even some lesser known guy named Martin Scorsese shows up in a voice-over role.

I loved this movie. Scorsese showcases how exhausting Frank’s world is one with high contrast, bright lights, and crazy people. It’s a loving story about a man so down on himself after a string of losses that he’ll take any win he can, eventually realizing you can’t win them all and in some cases you can’t win any of them. It has a strong cast and well-written script that endlessly stomps on you as you journey with Frank on a long road of misery, coffee, and cigarettes.

It’s easy to see why Bringing Out the Dead was divisive when it came out. Audiences didn’t know what to make of it and the studio didn’t really know how to market it. It is sometimes portrayed as something of a chase movie, which it absolutely isn’t. But it is a must watch for Cage fans.

Rating: A