[Quick Summary: Over several nights in NYC, a tired, burned out emergency medic wrestles with how to constantly face life and death while on the job.]
This is a well written adaptation, full of raw emotions.
It's a pretty bleak situation. Frank and his medic co-workers numb themselves from the tragic situations that they encounter every day.
However, in the middle of a downward spiral, Frank connects with Mary, the estranged daughter of a recent heart attack case.
The script excels at putting Frank through the wringer. It externalizes how close he is to the edge, as well as wrestle with how he feels about Mary, who grounds him.
So when Frank finally gets his big moment with Mary, I felt he earned it.
EXT. MERCY EMERGENCY -- NIGHT
...MARY: OK, last night I was weak. It won't happen again And all that shit I said --it was just because I was stoned. Forget it.
FRANK: No problem. Thanks for letting me crash. It was the best sleep I've had in months. I used some of your soap.
MARY: I wish these people would leave already. I can't listen to another story. Did you see him? (Frank doesn't answer) That doctor says the brain is coming around. They're waitin gfor the heart to stabilize. I don't know who to believe. He says they still have to keep him tied up.
FRANK: Can I bring you something back to eat --a falafal, some pizza?
MARY: No, we just ate. I only remember how tough my father was. Now I know he had to be like that, to make us tough. This city'll kill you if you aren't strong enough.
FRANK: No, the city doesn't discriminate. It gets everybody.
Walls flashes 16XRay's headlights, hits the horns.
FRANK (CONT'D): I gotta go. Another call.
Frank, his heart pounding, steps closer to her.
FRANK (CONT'D): We're all dying, Mary Burke.
He leans as if to kiss her.
MARY: This is not a good time.
FRANK: There is no time.
He places his hand on her shoulder, kisses her lightly, walks toward Walls and the waiting ambulance.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This emotional moment felt just right and stuck the landing: the tone, brevity, Frank's renewed confidence.
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)(1st draft, 11/7/97)
by Paul Schrader
From the novel by Joseph Connelly
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