Vietnam flashbacks! Heroic chiropractors! Trains! Explosions! McCauley Culkin! Demons!
Following the experiences of Vietnam Vet, Jacob Singer, Jacob's Ladder is a somewhat non-linear tale, charting Jacobs apparent PTSD as we skip between his present life as a postal worker haunted by visions of demons, his (presumably pre-war) time with his ex-wife, and his last day in action in 'nam.
I didn't realise going in, but it soon became obvious that this movie was a huge influence to the Silent Hill games, something an internet search confirmed, with many of the same locations, visual tricks, and imagery. If it had only had fog, you'd swear they were set in the same universe.
I don't want to say too much more, as it's easy to give things away, but I will say that the film pulls off a lot of tropes that usually put me right off a movie; here though, they are so well justified by context, and so well made, that they actually work. The kind of non linear storytelling which often marks a movie as under-written, lazy, or pretentious, here paints a compelling picture of a decent into madness. If you don't need to leave a movie with everything tied up in a neat little bow, then I strongly recommend that you see this movie before reading any further.
Still here? Don't say you weren't warned.
The ending in particular, if less-well handled, could have invalidated the entire movie; instead it becomes the point of the movie, making sense of everything that's gone before (at least in part due to the chiropractor's philosophising). Likewise the backwards-and-forwards nature of the story, and the uncertainty as to which bits are dreams, could easily have become annoying if not so well written and directed.
I'll probably revisit this one at some point, as countless little things are making sense as I look back at them (such as why we never see Jacob's other 2 children) and I'm sure there will be more of these little touches to find.
Not a wholehearted thumbs up, as a lot of people will tire of this movie quickly, or find it confusing; but as mentioned before the jump, for the right type of person I thoroughly recommend this film.
Showing posts with label Jacob's Ladder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jacob's Ladder. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 April 2014
Friday, 18 April 2014
Jacobs Ladder - Lisa's Review
How do I even start to attempt to review this movie at 11pm on a Friday night. If the following is a convoluted mess, I apologise profusely.
I have seen Jacobs ladder 4 times. Twice in my much younger years and neither time did I understand it, then again about 5 years ago and I finally began to grasp what I interpreted from the movie. I watched it for the fourth time this week in parts. I read something in a movie review for Jacobs Ladder today, which probably sums the movie up very well. It's like trying to decipher Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin lyrics, it's impossible, but you're stoned so you try to anyway, lol.
So let's kick it off with my viewpoint on the movie, I think this is an excellent movie and if anyone reading this hasn't watched he movie, they really should; and they should do it without some over zealous reviewer giving it all away, so I'll try not to give too much away. To be fair it won't be for everyone. If the type of movies you enjoy tend to be 'Rom Coms, Chick Flicks and Action movies', then I think giving this one a miss may be a good piece of advice.
The movie stars Tim Robbins, who was an unknown to me the first couple of times I watched Jacobs Ladder, but I've since seen him in quite a lot, most notably 'Shawshamk Remdemption' as Andy Dufrasne. He stars as Vietnam Vet Jacob, who is having psychological problems after having been terribly injured in action and returning home. He is struggling with the death of his young son Gabe in a traffic accident and the break-up of his marriage. It is intimated that his happened before he left for Vietnam. One thing I will say about the movie at this point is that it can be difficult to work out which interlocking story is the present day. In one life we see Jacob in Vietnam, in another he is married with a son and in the third he is in a relationship with someone he works with after having returning home from the war.
My assumption was that he was married with a son who was tragically killed. His marriage subsequently broke down and he went to war where he was injured and returned home to take a postal job and start a relationship with a colleague. We are party to his flashbacks, both to his married life and to battle scenes. He also begins to have horrific hallucinations, which start to make it very difficult to pick apart fact from fiction.
One of Jacobs comrades meet up with him to discuss the hallucinations he has also been having since the war. Soon after he is killed in what appears to be a tragic accident. At the funeral, Jacob meets up with more old comrades who also allude to having similar experiences.
From here we follow the disintegration of Jacobs sanity and the movie gets pretty trippy. I will say though, the way the movie is shot and the soundtrack do convey the feeling of the movie and the complete unraveling of this mans sanity.
It seems there is more to his war experience than he was aware of. It is in his discovery that the movie attains its name.
For me, this is a very intelligent, thought provoking movie that anyone who likes a bit more than the usual crap that Hollywood spit out should watch. Hey, if you've seen it years ago, watch it again. I learnt something new each time, or maybe with age my interpretation changed, who knows, but, either way, go watch this. Highly Recommended.
Thursday, 10 April 2014
Week 151 - Jacob's Ladder (1990)
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