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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Intense Drama About Drug Abuse, August 6, 2000
911...The Line Is Dead. Beneath this slogan on the cover of the DVD, we have blood dripping. At a glance, it seems this is a horror movie related to some serial killer and 911. This is NOT the case. This movie is about Jimmy and Tom. Jimmy is a trained paramedic and driver of an ambulance. No one wants to be his partner, until Tom comes along. Tom soon discovers what the problem is: Jimmy is into recreational drug use. Jimmy also uses the ambulance to visit his family, buy drugs and have sex. Instead of finding another job, Tom decides to try to fit in with Jimmy and soon begins the recreational drug use. Tom gets kicked out of his apartment and ends up moving in with Jimmy. At this point the drug use becomes routine. Tom becomes unable to hold other friendships and even fails to start a relationship with a nurse who finds him attractive. Jimmy controls Tom's drug use, to the extent that he tries to keep Tom from overdosing or abusing the stuff. Things began to fall apart when Jimmy's grandfather, an intravenous heroin user, dies. To cope with the pain, Jimmy begins taking heroin intravenously. And in his usual monkey-see monkey-do manner, so does Tom. At this point, the joyride is headed to hell with a handbasket. Jimmy and Tom become increasingly irresponsible with their ambulance, began looking ill, and become unable to fund their habit. They finally get caught trying to cheat the guys who sell them the drugs. These chaps fire a gunshot straight through Tom's hand. In an attempt to escape, Jimmy loses control of the ambulance and his life. Tom survives and recognizes he is a drug addict and needs help. This is not a horror movie nor a thriller (the DVD box calls Broken Vessels an action/thriller). It is an intense drama which tells the story and effects of drug abuse. Todd Field and Jason London are brilliant in their portrayals of Jimmy and Tom, respectively. Both are worthy of Oscar nominations. In general, the movie excels in many areas, and benefits from a great script and competent direction.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply Disturbing, yet moving movie, November 13, 2001
I first saw this movie on cable, late one night when I was sick and couldn't sleep. I was not prepared for such a impactual movie, thinking, this plot has been done more than once now. I don't know how I missed this movie when it was first released, but I did and even though it has been on cable already, it is such a great movie I had to buy it on DVD, to watch it again and again. I know they say the movie was based on true events, however, some scenes seemed too far out to be real. Real or not, it packed a powerful message about drug abuse, and about being a follower and wanting to fit in. The main character is a young,naive man who moves to the Big Apple from a little small town in PA, and he gets a job as a paramedic. He is teamed up with the "Black Sheep" of the company (no one wants to be his partner) and as the "Black Sheep" character unfolds, you quickly find out why. He is a major drug user, totally unreliable and a extremely cynical person. His attitude is, he has seen it all and has done it all. Of course he immediately starts to educate his new partner on the ins and outs of live as a paramedic. Mainly he teaches him how not to work or care about your fellow man. Very disturbing for someone who is supposed to be helping people for a living. I will twice about the next paramedic I have to rely on:). Our shy, inexperienced hero (if you can call him that) from PA becomes totally mesmirized by his new partner and his wild,crazy,drug using lifestyle. This movie really shows you how one human being can be so easily influnced by another. And as these two go deeper and deeper into drug abuse, I felt myself being totally dragged into this world as if I was really there also. That is due to the great acting and the intensity of the story. It grabs you from the start and keeps you there to the end. If you like movies that don't sugar coat, is fast moving and very graphic, than this movie is for you. I personally love black comedies/intense dramas and I rate this movie to be one of the best of it's kind. Yes, the plot is familar and even some of the scenes may be familar, but the two stars really do such a believable job that the script starts to seems brand new. I found it totally captivating to watch how our hero starts to lose all his morals, goals and decency that he had, as the drugs, and his partners influence take over his whole life. I would highly recommend this movie if you can handle graphic scenes and the dark side of life. However, it is not for the weak or easlily offended and definitely not for the younger crowd. But I would recommend a parent watching this with a teenager that may be falling into a life of drugs. This movie may make someone think twice about going down that road. I also found the photography to be brilliant. I am not sure what the style of photography is called, but a lot of the scenes were shot very different than most of the movies on the market. Obviously, I am not professional critic, not knowing all the correct terminology to use to describe what I mean, but watch the movie for yourself and I think you will understand what I mean. Highly enjoyable with a deep message. A must see film.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific plot, outrageous characters, moral dilemmas, wanton drug use--it is all here, February 20, 2006
Fresh-faced Tom (Jason London) is just out of college and ready to launch his medical career by moving cross-country to Los Angeles and working as an EMT. He's partnered up with veteran paramedic Jimmy, a man who has burned out dozens of partners in the past. Tom tries to walk the straight-and-narrow when Jimmy wants to drink beer in the ambulance and stop in a bar on duty. It's a natural progression for Tom to give in to drinking, to try some speed, and then to smoke some dope with Jimmy (Jimmy's rule is that smoking is fine, but one should never inject heroin). One can just imagine how life spirals out of control from there. Tom and Jimmy end up forming a modern-day Robin Hood team to score drugs and money for drugs. Do druggies have debates about morality and ethics? You bet.
The film is filled with outrageous and unforgettable characters. There's Bob, Tom's uptight roommate who is obsessed with the phone bill and his fish tank (darkly comic tragedy ensues when Tom is put in charge of the fish tank). Susie, the neighborhood speed freak, is a complete scene-stealer with her manic and paranoid monologues. Picking up the movie just to see her physical and verbal performance is worth it. And then, of course, there's Gramps, a delightful practical joker of a man who raised Jimmy and now lives out his days in a nursing home, getting dope from his grandson to support his habit.
The bottom line in this story is about coming in to your own, and taking responsibility for your actions. Anyone who loves drug movies will enjoy this, and anyone just looking for a good story might be put off by the excessive drug use, but the good story is under there.
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