| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Ladder 49 (2004) |
| Director | Jay Russell |
| Screenplay Writer | Lewis Colick |
| Based on | — |
| Lead Actors | Joaquin Phoenix |
| Cast | Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta |
| Genre | Drama |
| Release Date | October 1, 2004 |
| Duration | 1h 55m |
| Budget | ~$60 million |
| Language | English |
| Country | USA |
| Box Office | ~$103 million |
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In our post 9/11 world, firefighters have become heroes. But even heroes have to lead everyday lives that aren’t always glamorous. “Ladder 49” takes us through the initiation of one young firefighter into the ranks of Baltimore’s band of brothers. Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) walks into his new life at “Ladder 49” and is immediately confronted with a drunken First Captain (John Travolta) who puts young Jack through the ringer. In due time, he comes to realize that he is being toyed with by his station mates and has just passed an initiation rite into a close knit family of workers, friends, and in many ways, they become his family.
Unlike other dramatic fire films such as “Backdraft,” this story does not take us through some sense of intrigue where corruption or greed taints the lives of these public servants. Instead, we just get to see the everyday experiences of a firefighter, including balancing family life, watching each other’s back, and occasionally being put in harm’s way. Jack meets Linda (Jacinda Barrett), who will become his wife, while out on a food shopping expedition with another fireman friend. We witness the mundane but sentimental courting and eventual marriage and children that results from this chance meeting.
But the real story unfolds from the pain that comes from being put in dangerous situations. Not all stories of heroics have happy endings. Jack is confronted early on by the loss of one of his best friends in the department due to a roof collapse during the fighting of a fire. In many ways, “Ladder 49” is a metaphor for the way we all grow and mature.
At various times in our lives, we come together to unite in a common goal or commitment, we build that commitment through sometimes tedious and repetitive experiences, and then our faith and maturity is tested by the pains of real life when people get hurt, suffer or die. In the ranks of a big city fire department, this can happen with swiftness akin to a rookie soldier going out on one of his first combat missions. Death and suffering may become a part of his everyday life, but only a deep seated faith can carry him through the kinds of emotion that he is required to face.
Watch Ladder 49 (2004) on Hurawatch.
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