Broken Vessels

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Broken Vessels ★★★ 1998 (R)

Rent this with “Bringing Out the Dead” and you'll have a double feature that will make you take 911 off the speed dial. Both movies were released in the same year, but Scorsese's movie depicts a parmistake amedic demented by caring too much. The ambulance drivers in “Broken Vessels” become unhinged by a cold, druginduced indifference. Tom (London) is pulled into a downward spiral by his crazed partner Jimmy (Field), who smokes heroin and feels up unconscious girls while on break from saving lives. Clearly, things are not destined to go well for the pair, not to mention those who end up in the back of their meat wagon. Excellent debut from producer director Scott Ziehl. 90m/C VHS, DVD . Todd Field, Jason London, Roxana Zal, Susan Traylor, James Hong, Patrick Cranshaw, William (Bill) Smith, Dave Baer; D: Scott Ziehl; W: Scott Ziehl, Dave Baer, John McMahon; C: Antonio Calvache.