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This week's Answer:
The
Missing Ladder Thomas,
thanks for contacting me with your question. I
assume you are referring to the film, Ladder 49 and
not that you own forty-nine or more ladders. Come to
think of it, why did they call that film, "Ladder
49"? I didn't see any ladders with the number,
"49," did you? And if the fire company was
called, "Ladder 49," why didn't they just get
one more ladder and call it, "Ladder 50"?
Maybe it did used to be called, "Ladder 50" and
somebody stole one of the ladders? These are the
kind of questions that were not addressed in the
screenplay, which may have hurt it considerably.
Maybe, instead of a biography-type pic, it should have
been a suspense mystery: Log-line:
Firefighters in Baltimore search for a missing ladder. In
regards to your question, I believe that the screenplay
could have been more compelling and missed opportunities
to delve deeper into the fascinating world of the life of
firefighters. It was inventive to follow the life of
a firefighter as we flashback to his life while he is
trapped and injured after an accident that was
precipitated by his unrelenting drive to save the lives of
others, but, in my humble opinion, the script depended too
much on us becoming sentimentally involved with this
"great guy," who was sensitive and heroic.
The opening of the film, the introduction to the
protagonist and his initiation into the firehouse, was
somewhat interesting, but the storyline leveled off at a
sentimental, "let's praise the mighty firemen, who
can do no wrong" plateau, which manifested a
dragging, tedium with little respite from the propaganda
message that was delivered over and over again. It
was as though we were being delivered an 11th
commandment: "Love Thy
Firefighter."
Generally, although it had its moments, the script fell
short because of its overarching (or
"overaching") self-absorption. It didn't
take nearly enough risks. Of course we care that the
protagonist firefighter was courageous and sacrificed his
life for others, but we have to sit through 115 minutes to
understand that? Was the screenwriter afraid to show
us the dark side of the firefighter? Why couldn't we
be trusted to make our own conclusions if we saw even a
little gray? Looking at another film about
firefighters, Backdraft lets us into the
firefighter's psychology in a deeper way and offers a
central theme related to the literal and figurative
concept noted by the title. What does Ladder 49
offer? Tears for a firefighter who chose to do a job
that entailed risks. The producer cut a scene that
showed somebody watching the news broadcast about
"9/11." Do you think maybe the producer
finally said, "That might just be a little too much"? If
so, he or she was right. And the screenwriter should
have said it a lot sooner. Well, maybe the sequel
will be better. Ladder
51.
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