Customer Reviews

Broken Vessels [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have been trying to classify "Broken Vessels" ever since I watched it a few weeks ago. Is it a "message" film cloaked in dense drama? A typical Hollywood tale of excess and broken dreams? A redemptive tale? The answer is all three. Tinseltown loves to churn out these movies about some innocent backwoods rube moving to the big city only to find his or her dreams derailed by bright lights and the lure of the bottle and/or needle. These sorts of pictures treat us to roughly an hour or so of dangerous, out of control behavior before throwing in an ending that has the main character snapping back to reality and regaining control of his or her life. Usually the final revelation comes about due to some sort of tragedy, like a death, a fractured relationship, or incarceration. I think these films are supposed to be inspiring, the sort of movie that tells all the lost souls out there that it's acceptable to foul your life up because everyone gets a second chance to come clean and walk in the sunshine again. Or some nonsense like that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that "Broken Vessels" is a film most of us have seen more than once.

That's not to say the movie isn't any good, however. "Broken Vessels" introduces us to Tom (Jason London), a gullible rube who moves from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles in order to make a fresh start in the big city. He's also fleeing from the horrific memory of a tragic automobile accident that he caused while driving under the influence. So right from the start we learn that this chap has issues with controlled substances. In order to earn enough money to secure his own lodgings, Tom accepts a position as a paramedic at a company run by the demanding and shrill Chen (James Hong). Before he can hit the street, however, he must learn the ins and outs of saving people's lives. Enter Jimmy (Todd Field), the resident hotshot who seems to know everything there is to know about being a paramedic. We follow Tom's awkward attempts to learn the job; his worst mistake involves writing off an injured motorcyclist when the poor guy is only injured. Ouch! Actually, it's a tough job and Tom doesn't do too badly thanks to Jimmy's patience and instruction. Tom's partner seems like a nice fellow in spite of the fact that he goes through partners like a thirsty man goes through glasses of water. Our hapless hero soon learns why others consider Jimmy anathema.

Jimbo has a drug problem, a big drug problem involving primarily heroin but also embracing just about any illegal substance known to man. He also has a temper, as evidenced in a situation where he abuses an injured passenger. Tom can't believe what his partner does on a daily basis, and he agonizes over what to do. Then the answer comes: join him! It's not too long before Tom and Jimmy are regular bosom buddies, whipping around the city on calls while getting high as kites in their off time. They sit in a park bombed out of their skulls while Tom films police officers beating up people at a Hispanic wedding ceremony, rip off drug dealers on a regular basis, and steal stuff from the homes of sick people in order to support their habits. Fun, eh? Things get worse after Tom moves in with Jimmy. A basket case next door, Suzy (Susan Traylor), introduces the boys to the wonderful world of meth. Predictably, Tom also meets and dates a nice young woman named Elizabeth (Roxanna Zal) who rapidly falls by the wayside as the drug abuse escalates to insane proportions. The conclusion to the film is appropriately grim while offering the requisite chance at redemption. Or does it? Watch and see.

You will want to watch "Broken Vessels" despite its derivative qualities. First, the performances are marvelous. London, who I remember fondly from "Dazed and Confused," convincingly portrays a kid with a problem who soon finds himself in way over his head. Todd Field, who I don't recall from any other film, does a credible job as the unbalanced Jimmy. Just as Tom has his own skeletons in the closet that he must deal with, we soon learn that Jimmy's upbringing by a drug-addicted grandfather (Patrick Cranshaw) is just the tip of the iceberg when trying to fathom this man's behavior. Special kudos should go to Susan Traylor as the addled Suzy. She talks a mile a minute, bounces off the walls, and totally makes the viewer believe this is a woman destroyed by drugs. Everyone onscreen does such a great job with their characters that I almost forgot I was watching a film I had already seen a half dozen times before. You come to care about these guys and girls, and you actually hope they get the help they need before the inevitable doom swallows them up. I don't know if "Broken Vessels" got a theatrical run, but if not it should have received one. This is a solid film with solid performances that could very well end up a minor cult classic. Oh, and look for cult fave William Smith in a small role as an injured goon.

Sadly, the DVD doesn't contain any behind the scenes footage or a commentary track, at least not on the version I watched. We do get trailers for this film, "Oxygen," "Razor Blade Smile," "Phantom of the Opera," "Dance with the Devil," and "Relax" along with fairly in-depth filmographies for the cast and crew. So if your looking for a message/drama film where an innocent rube goes to the big city and finds self-destruction and tragedy only to come out wiser in the end, "Broken Vessels" should fit the bill quite nicely.

I've overcome mental illness (bipolar disorder) and multiple addictions. I guess that's why I dig films like this one. I can't get enough of watching people lose everything a piece at a time and hear their reasoning and rationalizing for why they can't change. I don't do this maliciously. I'm just sucked in like a scientist keeping a close eye on a pet experiment. Plus, I know just what they're feeling. I relate 100%. The two main characters are damaged goods and they just escalate their demise with accelerated drug use, all while they're saving lives as EMT's. I've also worked with plenty of those guys. I never knew of any addicts but I knew many, many strung out personalities and razor's edge type individuals who did that job. It's high stress, low pay, lack of sleep, and dangerous environments for most of these folks. Yet they save lives. Makes for very interesting conversations when you talk with them. Broken Vessels is about all of that. I have been exactly in the situation where the EMT distracts the crazy man while the cop tackles him. I was the cop (the tackler anyway.)The movie was chaotic, tragic, and fun. You have to be able to understand hard living to comprehend why someone like me would say that. It's not glamorization. It's appreciation for what others endure even if it's their own selves they are enduring.

I have to start saying that this is a serious movie involving Paramedics doing drugs while they're working (and of course, in their own time too).

It is very disturbing at times and makes you feel sorry and angry for the characters because they are completely out of control and this is a kind of work where the people's lives depend on this two persons...

This movie will leave you thinking and will stay with you after its over.

I first viewed this movie at a local film festival. I was impressed with Jason Londons acting talent. The movie has a lot of drug use in it so, don't be alarmed by it. This movie is funny and has meaning to it. You witness the lives of 2 ambulance drivers as they try to save the lives of others, as well as their own. Don't pass it up! This movie was on my to buy list from the moment I first viewed it.

No one really nailed how funny this one can be. "Always get an extra" became a catch phrase for me and my buddies for years after seeing it. And the girl next door hopped up on meth turning her house into a chess board... priceless.

This movie is an awesome ride w/ 2 ambulance paramedics who get hooked on heroine. It shows the ups and downs of the drug, and how they manage to continue their duties as paramedics while chasing the dragon. Of course they could only keep up the charade for so long until it all comes crumbling down on them. Filmed in the Los Angeles area, this movie is very entertaining with its dark humor and great acting.

Service was excellent and product is in perfect working condition. Looking forward to more transactions like this.