Main Cast: Todd Field, Jason London, Roxana Zal, Susan Traylor, James Hong
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Scott Ziehl made his directorial debut with this high-energy ambulance ride with a pair of paramedics careening through the Los Angeles night, with Antonio Calvache's camerawork capturing the social drama in a documentary-style depiction. In the vein of Leaving Las Vegas, the film was the top 1998 winner (best feature) at the fourth Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. Pennsylvanian Tom (Jason London) arrives in L.A., encounters his eccentric neighbor Susy (Susan Traylor), and gets work with an ambulance company. Tom is initially impressed by his cool, hard-driving partner, veteran paramedic Jimmy (Todd Field, who also co-produced), especially after Tom screws up by almost sending a crash victim off to the morgue and Jimmy straightens out the potentially embarrassing episode. Daily collisions with violence and danger soon become routine. During one trip to the hospital, a possibly violent attack from an injured man in the ambulance is quelled when Jimmy simply knocks him out with fibulator pads to the head. Steering the streets with adrenaline action and high-octane intensity, Jimmy cools down with an intake of sex and drugs. Tom soon seeks similar solutions to this frenetic life on the edge. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Patrick Cranshaw - Gramps; Brent David Fraser - Jed; Stephanie Feury - Jill; David Nelson - Rick; William Smith - Bo; David Baer - Bob; John Hughes - Cop
Credit
Kristen Gilmartin - Art Director, John Sjogren - Associate Producer, Vidette Schine - Associate Producer, Robyn Knoll - Casting, David Baer - Co-producer, Todd Field - Co-producer, Robyn Knoll - Co-producer, Roseanne Fiedler - Costume Designer, Stacey Kalkowski - First Assistant Director, Scott Ziehl - Director, David Moritz - Editor, Chris Figler - Editor, Rodrigo Castillo - Production Designer, Antonio Calvache - Cinematographer, Roxana Zal - Producer, Scott Ziehl - Producer, Vince Garcia - Sound/Sound Designer, David Baer - Screenwriter, John McMahon - Screenwriter, Scott Ziehl - Screenwriter, Clive Taylor - Re-Recording Mixer, Clive Taylor - Supervising Sound Editor
Broken Vessels is a 1998medical dramafilm directed by Scott Ziehl and written by Ziehl along with David Baer and John McMahon. The film debuted at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival and marked Ziehl's directorial debut. It stars Todd Field, Jason London, Roxana Zal, Susan Traylor, and James Hong. The film follows a rookie paramedic and his hardened drug-addicted partner as they take calls and cruise L.A. in their ambulance.[1]
While the film did not do so well at the box office, it was generally well received by critics and was nominated for several awards when it was shown at film festivals in 1998.[2] Although it shares the same name as the book, it has nothing to do with the Andre Dubus essay collection of the same name.
The film tells the story of a young man from Pennsylvania (Jason London) named Tom who travels to Los Angeles to start working for an ambulance company. There, he is paired with an utterly self-assured veteran (Todd Field) named Jimmy who has apparently gone through many partners in his time. In the beginning, Tom is overwhelmed by the more skilled man's competence to deal with the high-pressure occurrences they stumble upon. Slowly but surely he discovers that Jimmy is not the cool and collected man he thought he was. While Jimmy seems to have everything under control on the surface, he gets through the traumatic effects of the job by heavy use of drugs and avoiding commitments. Before long Tom finds himself pulled into the same world and has to come to a decision about what direction he wants to take in his life.[3]
Broken Vessels was a fairly large failure at the box office. It was made on a slim budget of only $600,000 and was released to mainstream audiences on July 4, 1999 in two theaters. The film brought in $3,722 in its opening weekend. By the time the film ended its theatrical run on August 15, 1999 it had only made $3,722.[4]
Critical reception
Broken Vessels got somewhat positive reviews when it was initially released in 1998. Broken Vessels currently has a 67% rating at rottentomatos.com[5] The film’s current score on imdb.com is 6.2.[6]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said “What makes the movie special is the way both lead actors find the right quiet notes for their performances,” giving the film a three star rating.[7]
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for awards at several film festivals all over the world. At the British Independent Film Awards Broken Vessels was nominated in the category of Best Foreign Independent Film - English Language, at the Gijón International Film Festival director Scott Ziehl was nominated for the Grand Prix Asturias award in the category of Best Feature. Ziehl and co-producer Roxana Zal won the Audience Award in the category of Best Feature Film at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1998.[8]
