Broken Vessels (1999)

No enemy more vicious than thine own self

I've overcome mental illness (bipolar disorder) and multiple addictions. I guess that's why I dig films like this one. I can't get enough of watching people lose everything a piece at a time and hear their reasoning and rationalizing for why they can't change. I don't do this maliciously. I'm just sucked in like a scientist keeping a close eye on a pet experiment. Plus, I know just what they're feeling. I relate 100%. The two main characters are damaged goods and they just escalate their demise with accelerated drug use, all while they're saving lives as EMT's. I've also worked with plenty of those guys. I never knew of any addicts but I knew many, many strung out personalities and razor's edge type individuals who did that job. It's high stress, low pay, lack of sleep, and dangerous environments for most of these folks. Yet they save lives. Makes for very interesting conversations when you talk with them. Broken Vessels is about all of that. I have been exactly in the situation where the EMT distracts the crazy man while the cop tackles him. I was the cop (the tackler anyway.)The movie was chaotic, tragic, and fun. You have to be able to understand hard living to comprehend why someone like me would say that. It's not glamorization. It's appreciation for what others endure even if it's their own selves they are enduring. April 6, 2008

Super High Paramedics !!

I have to start saying that this is a serious movie involving Paramedics doing drugs while they're working (and of course, in their own time too).

It is very disturbing at times and makes you feel sorry and angry for the characters because they are completely out of control and this is a kind of work where the people's lives depend on this two persons...

This movie will leave you thinking and will stay with you after its over. February 16, 2007

Oscar-worthy performance from Todd Field

I was floored by this movie. Having spent seven years in various Washington state prisons alongside the disenfranchised casualties of the idiotic and doomed "war on drugs",I am no stranger to the deleterious effects of drug abuse and I thought this movie was one of the very few anti-drug movies that really got the message across without preaching or appearing to glamorize drugs. Jason London quite impressed me with his portrayal of a small town innocent corrupted by big city vices. But the film belongs to Todd Field; he gives an Oscar-worthy performance.From the minute his character appears on screen he mesmerizes; it's a live-wire performance that should have netted him more recognition; he is a phenomenal actor. It is a shame this movie isn't more well known. Its one of the most powerful and well-acted American films to come down the pike in a long time. The director, Scott Ziehl, shows a very sure hand behind the camera. This is a great film filled with humor, pathos and heart, plus its got a parade of cameos from everyone from Ron Jeremy to William Smith. See this movie. You won't be disappointed.
June 26, 2006

Spiraling Straight Into Hell

This is a indie film about two EMT's. One of the guys is a rookie and all around good guy. The other guy is a veteran and burn out. Basically it's a story about how the veteran EMT corrupts the rookie. Drugs, voilence, more drugs, TONS OF DRUGS. Basically it's a sad story that's hard to watch. No one likes watching crackheads do drugs. The story is kinda weak, but it's still entertaining. March 16, 2006

Terrific plot, outrageous characters, moral dilemmas, wanton drug use--it is all here

Fresh-faced Tom (Jason London) is just out of college and ready to launch his medical career by moving cross-country to Los Angeles and working as an EMT. He's partnered up with veteran paramedic Jimmy, a man who has burned out dozens of partners in the past. Tom tries to walk the straight-and-narrow when Jimmy wants to drink beer in the ambulance and stop in a bar on duty. It's a natural progression for Tom to give in to drinking, to try some speed, and then to smoke some dope with Jimmy (Jimmy's rule is that smoking is fine, but one should never inject heroin). One can just imagine how life spirals out of control from there. Tom and Jimmy end up forming a modern-day Robin Hood team to score drugs and money for drugs. Do druggies have debates about morality and ethics? You bet.

The film is filled with outrageous and unforgettable characters. There's Bob, Tom's uptight roommate who is obsessed with the phone bill and his fish tank (darkly comic tragedy ensues when Tom is put in charge of the fish tank). Susie, the neighborhood speed freak, is a complete scene-stealer with her manic and paranoid monologues. Picking up the movie just to see her physical and verbal performance is worth it. And then, of course, there's Gramps, a delightful practical joker of a man who raised Jimmy and now lives out his days in a nursing home, getting dope from his grandson to support his habit.

The bottom line in this story is about coming in to your own, and taking responsibility for your actions. Anyone who loves drug movies will enjoy this, and anyone just looking for a good story might be put off by the excessive drug use, but the good story is under there.
February 21, 2006

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