Asphalt City (2023) directed by Jean Stephane Sauvaire is a raw and not afraid at all to describe the lives of paramedics in New York City, I have to say this is one of those from 0 to 100 real quick scenarios, the movie stars Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan as Gene Rutkovsky and Ollie Ross, two paramedics navigating the harsh realities of their profession, the movie is an adaptation from the 2008 novel Black Flies by Shannon Burke, it was initially to have the same name although latter on was change, the movie tries to show the audience the darkness and often brutal world of emergency medical services in one of the world's most challenging urban environments.
The movie opens with a high stakes emergency intervention setting the tone for the relentless pace and intensity that follows, one scenario after the other setting the bar higher. Ollie Ross a fresh faced newcomer from Colorado is thrown into the lions den as he partners with the grizzled veteran Gene Rutkovsky who has seen it all during his shifts and basically tired of it. The story tells how their relationship started to evolve and the moral and ethical dilemmas they face daily, the story is not just about the physical challenges of the job but most of the time about the psychological toll it takes on those who choose this line of work.
Sauvaire's direction combined with the screenplay by Ryan King and Ben Mac Brown creates very harsh experience for the audience since not everyone has the stomach to take it and at the same time immerses the audience in the chaotic and often violent world of NYC paramedics the movie is not shy from graphic depictions of the emergencies they encounter and sometimes uncomfortable watch, it is this very rawness that gives the film its power providing a window into a world that is rarely seen in such detail.
Platform: Amazon
The Characters and Performances
Gene Rutkovsky play The Seasoned Veteran
Sean Penn delivers a compelling performance as Gene Rutkovsky a 15 year veteran of the New York City MED Department, he is a complicated character who really demonstrate how careless and cynic a man can turn during the job this comes with years of exposure to the city's darkest corners. Penn's role is marked by a sense of predicting things after seen a lot happen during his shifts and a deep understanding of the character's internal struggles between everything going on at work and with his daughter and ex lover, been not just a paramedic he is a man fighting with his own demons including a problematic long relationship with his ex wife and the emotional weight of his job.
Ollie Ross Does a Naive Rookie
Tye Sheridan plays Ollie Ross a young man from Colorado who moves to New York City with dreams of becoming a doctor. Sheridan's performance captures how rookies who get into the job start so naive and idealism of a newcomer, put side by side against the harsh realities he faces on the job. Ollie starts to grow as he goes, not only been partner with Gene but latter on had to deal with Lafontaine who makes his life a living hell from the moment they met and is who tells him straight up to his face what he thinks from the patients they pick up either based on the color of their skin or social status, such experience is what really makes him become a more realistic and center man about his job.
The Supporting Cast
The supporting cast includes a range of characters between them we got Kali Reis plays Nia, a drug addicted pregnant woman who turn on to be one of the most brutal cases reason why I mention her first, while Katherine Waterston portrays Nancy, Rutkovsky's ex lover, on setting the bar between disturbing and awkward moments during the movie she is up there. Michael Pitt is LaFontaine, an argumentative co worker, who basically makes Ollie work environment a living hell and Mike Tyson appears as Chief Burroughs the tough boss of the paramedic house, Gbenga Akinnagbe plays Verdis one of the more compassionate paramedics you could find.
Themes and Elements of Asphalt City
Moral and Ethical Dilemmas
One of the central themes of the film is the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by paramedics for both Rutkovsky and Ross are constantly confronted with situations that test their principles and force them to make difficult decisions, on one hand we have Gene who is bombarded with problems out side of work and probably loosing hope in humans, on the other hand we have Ollie who has every single breath of him wanting to help everyone who gets into his ambulance to the point that is traumatic when he loose a patient on his way to the hospital. The movie explores the idea of a moral code, one that may not align with some of now days society norms but is necessary for survival in their line of work, often the movie is very related to a quote from Verdis one of the paramedics "We all live in the darkness, we don’t have to let it inside."
Psychological Wear and Tear
The psychological wear and tear of their body, brain and soul that comes with the job is another key theme, the movie goes deep into the mental and emotional strain experienced by paramedics as it shows how they start to break down or have broken down in the past by their life stile, highlighting the impact of constant exposure to trauma and violence. Rutkovsky's character in particular tries to maintain his sanity and sense of purpose trying to cope with the chaos but at the end is fully consume by it to the point of taking his own life.
Direction and Cinematography
Jean Stephane Sauvaire's direction is marked by a harsh realism that enhances the movie impact towards the audience with the use of handheld cameras and close up shots creates a sense of immersion or pov, drawing the audience into the chaotic world of the paramedics. The work of the director of photography David Ungaro supports Sauvaire’s direction focus on describing the dark and suffocating environment of the city, Lighting and color enhance the movie’s tension at night specially, many sequences take place in bright, artificial light that gives the impression of an imminent threat with visual elements of the movie such as the repeated images of the subway tracks above the characters also enhance the feeling of tension during their shifts at night.
Asphalt City is a very slow movie that at times felt to drawn you into Ollie and Gene problems, I might focus on different aspects of content but as long as it generates some sort of feeling or reaction from me it turns interesting. The movie really shows the powerful commitment of paramedics and the strength need to work in such demanding field where you have the experience to look at everyone under the same conditions, they all closer to death and you are the only one who can make a difference for them, as very often refer during the movie "I'm GOD".
The movies was brutally score on multiple online websites like IMDB or RottenTomatoes but once you go and read the reviews often you will find that the acting of Sean Penn was very good some describing it as above average but its the pace and the harsh reality of problems they deal with during the movie that might turn it boring for some people, its a drama, not action movie or comedy, I would totally recommend this movie despite its average online score.
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