Review of:Ladder 49 (2004)
by Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin
"Reprinted with permission by cinemainfocus.com"
Director:Jay Russell
Rating:PG-13 for intense fire and rescue situations, and for language.
Starring:Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Jacinda Barrett, Billy Burke, Jay Hernandez
In our post 9/11 world, firefighters have become heroes. But even heroes have to lead everyday lives that aren’t always glamorous. “Ladder 49” takes us through the initiation of one young firefighter into the ranks of Baltimore’s band of brothers.
Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) walks into his new life at “Ladder 49” and is immediately confronted with a drunken First Captain (John Travolta) who puts young Jack through the ringer. In due time, he comes to realize that he is being toyed with by his station mates and has just passed an initiation rite into a close knit family of workers, friends, and in many ways, they become his family.
Unlike other dramatic fire films such as “Backdraft,” this story does not take us through some sense of intrigue where corruption or greed taints the lives of these public servants. Instead, we just get to see the everyday experiences of a firefighter, including balancing family life, watching each other’s back, and occasionally being put in harm’s way.
Jack meets Linda (Jacinda Barrett), who will become his wife, while out on a food shopping expedition with another fireman friend. We witness the mundane but sentimental courting and eventual marriage and children that results from this chance meeting.
But the real story unfolds from the pain that comes from being put in dangerous situations. Not all stories of heroics have happy endings. Jack is confronted early on by the loss of one of his best friends in the department due to a roof collapse during the fighting of a fire.
In many ways, “Ladder 49” is a metaphor for the way we all grow and mature. At various times in our lives, we come together to unite in a common goal or commitment, we build that commitment through sometimes tedious and repetitive experiences, and then our faith and maturity is tested by the pains of real life when people get hurt, suffer or die. In the ranks of a big city fire department, this can happen with swiftness akin to a rookie soldier going out on one of his first combat missions. Death and suffering may become a part of his everyday life, but only a deep-seated faith can carry him through the kinds of emotion that he is required to face.
“Ladder 49” weaves this entire story through flashbacks while at the same time telling the story of fighting a major fire in a warehouse on the Baltimore waterfront. In the making of this movie, many scenes were shot at a real burning warehouse, which adds to the story’s drama. But the real drama comes in the decisions that the firefighters have to make in order to save lives. How many firefighters do you put at risk to save one life? When do you have to make hard choices that may result in letting some people perish while saving many others?
I had the privilege of seeing this film with over 100 firefighters and I got to hear many reactions to the story. For some, it raised the question of whether or not a firefighter would ever leave anyone behind. As one firefighter said, “Who wouldn’t do whatever it would take to save one of your own family members if they were in a burning building?” For others, the film seemed to suggest that the decision, while emotional, would be much more pragmatic. In the end, everyone agreed that it would be impossible to know until you were actually in that kind of situation.
Most of us never have to face those kinds of decisions, but the men and women who join the ranks of public safety personnel face the possibility of having to make that kind of decision each day. So often, we take it for granted that people will always be there to help us in times of need, but it is a story like this that gives us all a sense of awe and respect for those who willingly put their lives on the line to save others.
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