Themes: Daring Rescues, Redemption, Fathers and Daughters
Main Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Jacinda Barrett, Robert Patrick, Morris Chestnut
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 114 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
An everyday hero recalls his life as he's forced to look death in the eye in this adventure drama. Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) is a young firefighter who is a member of Ladder Company 49, led by Capt. Kennedy (John Travolta), a tough but compassionate man who looks upon his fellow firefighters as a family. While battling a blaze, Morrison finds himself trapped inside a burning building, and as Kennedy and his men try to find a way to rescue him, Morrison looks back on his life and how he came to choose such a dangerous career. Ladder 49 also features Jacinda Barrett and Brooke Hamlin as, respectively, Morrison's wife and daughter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
From the blue-collar heroism of its title onward, Ladder 49 honors the quintessential experience of the American firefighter. Never mind that it focuses on a blazing Baltimore factory, rather than the World Trade Center -- the film is a pretty transparent eulogy for the public servants who left behind loving families on September 11, 2001. To make Joaquin Phoenix's Jack Morrison even more of an archetype, Irish flute music provides the soundtrack for some of the defining moments of his life, because firefighters -- at least those created in Hollywood -- are disproportionately Irish. But just because the film has some overtones of Bush White House propaganda doesn't mean it's not truthful, and at times, funny and touching. Phoenix' broken-nose good looks have always made him an effective everyman. He perfectly embodies the universality of screenwriter Lewis Colick's protagonist, a charming good old boy who wins a pretty wife and produces two darling children. That this idyllic life is so vulnerable is probably a belabored point in Jay W. Russell's film, as several beloved firehouse jokesters are forced to pay a dear price in the line of duty. Ladder 49 is also a little lazy in its plotting, amounting to little more than a highlight reel from Jack's life, recalled as he lies in that burning building. Because of this structure, the outcome of the film's primary conflict -- whether Jack should go on saving lives or retire to a desk job to protect his family -- is already known. But maybe that's the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from Ladder 49's agenda: for the brave firefighters who died on 9/11, there never was a choice. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Billy Burke - Dennis Gauquin; Balthazar Getty - Ray Guquin; Tim Guinee - Tony Corrigan; Jay Hernandez - Keith Perez; Kevin Chapman - Frank McKinney; Kevin Daniels - Don Miller; Brooke Hamlin - Katie Morrison; Robert Logan Lewis - Robert Reilly; Spencer Berglund - Nicky Morrison
Credit
Gregory W.M. Bolton - Art Director, Kevin Constant - Art Director, Anson Downes - Associate Producer, Linda Rae Favila - Associate Producer, Manny Chavez - Associate Producer, Nancy Foy - Casting, Chris Salvaterra - Co-producer, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus - Costume Designer, Vincent Lascoumes - First Assistant Director, Jay Russell - Director, Jim Arnett - Second Unit Director, Bud Smith - Editor, Scott Smith - Editor, Armyan Bernstein - Executive Producer, Marty P. Ewing - Executive Producer, William Ross - Composer (Music Score), John Bissell - Musical Direction/Supervision, Tony Burrough - Production Designer, James L. Carter - Cinematographer, Casey Silver - Producer, Larry Fioritto - Special Effects, Kirk A. Francis - Sound/Sound Designer, Seth Arnett - Stunts, G.A. Aguilar - Stunts Coordinator, Lewis Colick - Screenwriter, Peter Donen - Visual Effects Supervisor, Kelly Cabral - Supervising Sound Editor, Maggie Martin - Set Decorator
Ladder 49 is a 2004drama film about the rescue of Baltimorefirefighter Jack Morrison who is trapped inside of a structure fire, and his recollection of the events that got him to that point. The movie is a celebration of the firefighting profession, and the life that comes with it. It was directed by Jay Russell, and stars Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta.
The film opens with Jack Morrison (Phoenix) saving a man's life in a burning warehouse in Locust Point (Baltimore). However, the grain being stored in the warehouse explodes, sending Jack tumbling several floors where he breaks his leg. The film follows the efforts of the other men in his unit lead by Deputy Chief Mike Kennedy (Travolta), his longtime mentor, to rescue him while Jack tries to reach a safe area of the burning structure. Interspersed with the current rescue efforts are a series of flashbacks showing how Jack joined the fire department, his meeting with the woman who would become his wife, his relationship with his children, and the bond he formed with his fellow firefighters.
After some time working with the firefighting unit (Engine 33) Jack takes a position as a search and rescue member (who enter the burning buildings to locate and rescue people trapped by the fire) on Ladder 49, making his work much more dangerous and challenging as the years pass. (Engine 33 and Ladder 49 are kept at the same firehouse, Engine 33 Co, and Mike Kennedy is then only a Captain). He finds the work rewarding, but his wife is initially concerned for his safety and opposes the change; however, she eventually accepts his new role and even talks him out of taking an administrative position when it is offered to him. He suffers some traumatic experiences, such as the loss of a friend in the line of duty, and also another friend's severe injury while searching for victims. One night he is able to break through to a small girl trapped in a burning apartment, but is trapped himself briefly before being rescued. Both he and his colleague receive the Medal of Valor for their actions.
Back at the grain building fire the efforts by Jack's fellow firefighters are extremely determined, and Jack does his best to reach the possible safe area that Mike told him about. However, upon reaching that room he sees that the only exit is cut off by raging flames, and Jack realizes that his situation is hopeless. He radios Mike to pull his men back, so no one else will be hurt while trying to rescue him. Mike reluctantly agrees, and Jack accepts his fate to die in the fire. At Jack's funeral, Mike delivers an emotional eulogy which receives a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance. Jack's body is then carried to his resting place with full honors. The film ends with Mike and fellow firefighters going on a call and a final shot of him and Jack coming out of his first ever burning building since joining the department.
Robert Lewis – FF Ed Reilly (as Robert Logan Lewis)
Spencer Berglund – Nicky Morrison
Brooke Hamlin – Katie Morrison
Sam Stockdale – himself
Paul Novak Jr. – Dispatcher
Reception
Ladder 49 grossed $74,463,263[1] at the US box office and $102,332,848 worldwide[2], and has generally received mixed reviews. It received a rating of 3.5 out of 4 stars from Roger Ebert[3], and it has received an overall rating of 47/100 from Metacritic based on 32 reviews, resulting in "Mixed or Average Reviews."[4]
