Tye Sheridan is Ollie Cross, a rookie paramedic who has joined the service to help people. He is assigned to work alongside cynical veteran Gene played by Sean Penn and soon discovers that he now lives in a difficult, dark and unforgiving world.
Whilst Sheridan is really good here and Penn as grizzled and hypnotic as ever, this is a hard film to watch. It is relentlessly grim with the couple moving around in a world of drug addled, angry, deprived and often violent people largely ungrateful for any help. The duo move from one gut wrenching societally badged incident to another, slowly wearing Sheridan's idealistic character as well as the audience, down. It is perfectly watchable, but without the slightest shift in pace and tone which remains harrowing throughout, the message eventually wears a bit thin and results in a rather overly dramatic and then rather twee and cliched conclusion.
The message here is clearly life is hell and if you have to live in New York make sure you have plenty of money and medical insurance.
Whilst Sheridan is really good here and Penn as grizzled and hypnotic as ever, this is a hard film to watch. It is relentlessly grim with the couple moving around in a world of drug addled, angry, deprived and often violent people largely ungrateful for any help. The duo move from one gut wrenching societally badged incident to another, slowly wearing Sheridan's idealistic character as well as the audience, down. It is perfectly watchable, but without the slightest shift in pace and tone which remains harrowing throughout, the message eventually wears a bit thin and results in a rather overly dramatic and then rather twee and cliched conclusion.
The message here is clearly life is hell and if you have to live in New York make sure you have plenty of money and medical insurance.