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Jacob’s Ladder

Rating

Director

Adrian Lyne

Screenplay

Bruce Joel Rubin

Length

1h 53m

Starring

Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jason Alexander, Patricia Kalember, Eriq La Salle, Ving Rhames, Brian Tarantina, Anthony Alessandro, Brent Hinkley, S. Epatha Merkerson

MPAA Rating

R

Review

From the writer of “Ghost,” comes another supernatural screenplay about life and death and the blurred border between them.

“Jacob’s Ladder” opens in a Vietnam War zone where young Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is trying to escape the enemy when he is shot and falls to the ground where he remembers his past with morbid clarity. What is intentionally unclear is whether it is actually real or just a hallucination.

Part of the film covers his arguments with his wife, Jezzie (Elizabeth Peña), about what he should and should not do. He tends to come home late by taking the train, but keeps seeing things there that he won’t talk about and that doesn’t make Jezzie feel very confident. He thinks he’s seeing demons and isn’t quite sure what to make of things.

Every once in awhile, we see flashbacks to the war with Jacob being dragged around by friends and enemies alike from what we can tell.

There is one chilling scene at a party where he sees flashes of these demons in quick cuts. Adrian Lyne weaves around the party well with the climax of Jacob in a bathtub filled with ice. He calms down, but can’t help but feel that he’s being stalked by demons.

He consults his chiropractor, Louis (Danny Aiello), who gives him as much comfort as possible. He finds several of his buddies from ‘Nam and they think that somehow there may have been some kind of Agent Orange substance used on them and that they are hallucinating because of it.

Lyne does extremely well with Rubin’s meditation on death. The film has a surprising twist at the end that firms up the film’s classicism.

The acting is surprisingly fine with Robbins giving one his best early performances. Peña is surprisingly sympathetic while Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander is surprisingly threatening. Aiello does what he does best, a quiet sensibility that fits his character well.

The editing is terrific. The party scene is a delight as is a scene where Louis cracks Jacob’s neck with an edit and sound effect that make it chilling beyond belief. Lyne’s use of reds during several key scenes helps spell out the fear and evilness of each situation. Similarly, his use of blacks and whites keeps the film in contrast with itself, making the ending even more surprising.

Rubin has created another terrific screenplay. It is similar in theme to “Ghost,” but more daunting and traumatic. It has a sense of dread that is often lost in modern films dealing with war and remembrance. Rubin’s script is the best part of the film, but Lyne and the rest of the ensemble make it work, which makes “Jacob’s Ladder” one of 1990’s best films.

“Jacob’s Ladder” is stark and unflinching. It further blurs the line between life and death, which helps us understand that our lives aren’t always as they seem and the demons in our lives may be little more than figments of our own overwrought imaginations.

Review Written

August 17, 1999