Bringing Out the Dead (1999) is a drama directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader, based on the novel of the same name by Joe Connelly. The film stars Nicolas Cage as Frank Pierce, a paramedic working in New York City who is haunted by the ghosts of those he couldn't save.
The movie takes place over a two-day period in Frank's life. He is overworked and burnt out, going through the motions of his job without feeling any sense of purpose or accomplishment. He is haunted by the ghosts of the people he couldn't save, including a young woman named Rose who he accidentally caused to die. The ghosts appear to Frank in vivid hallucinations, calling out to him for help.
Frank is paired with different partners on his ambulance shifts, including a young and eager paramedic named Tom (played by Tom Sizemore) and an overconfident and reckless one named Marcus (played by Ving Rhames). The relationship between Frank and his partners is strained, as they struggle to understand his detachment from their job and inability to move on from his past failures.
Throughout the course of the movie, Frank encounters various patients, including a drug addict named Mary (played by Patricia Arquette) who he develops feelings for. He also crosses paths with Noel (played by Marc Anthony), a man whose life he saved years ago and who has become a borderline religious zealot, stalking Frank and insisting that he is his savior.
As the two-day period comes to a close, Frank is pushed further to the brink of his sanity. He confronts his supervisor and demands to be fired, but is given another shift to work. In the final scene, Frank boards a subway train and sees the ghosts of his patients smiling at him, finally at peace.
Bringing Out the Dead is a visceral and intense portrayal of the physical and emotional toll of emergency medical work. Scorsese's direction is frenetic and claustrophobic, capturing the chaos and urgency of the job while also delving into the psychological torment of its central character. Cage's performance is intense and committed, capturing the exhaustion and desperation of a man driven to the brink.