Knight at the Movies ARCHIVES
Earnest Attempts at the Real Thing:
Ladder 49, Head in the Clouds
10-6-04 Knight at the Movies column
By Richard Knight, Jr.























The slow but steady career of firefighter Jack Morrison, the fictional character at the center of Ladder 49,
mirrors that of Joaquin Phoenix the actor who plays him.  “Slow but steady” also describes this movie in which
Phoenix, who’s especially good at portraying characters that have still waters running deep, gets a supreme
example here.  “You go into burning buildings when everyone’s running out” Jack’s girlfriend-soon to be wife Linda
says to him incredulously at one point but the irony of that doesn’t occur to Jack or his fellow firefighters – they’re
too busy trying to save lives.

But the irony occurs to the audience (as it’s supposed to) and throughout the rest of the movie I kept looking for
clues to answer the unanswerable question why these guys risk their lives for total strangers.  The movie attempts
to examine that by presenting Morrison’s story, told via flashbacks as he lies injured and trapped inside a burning
building as his Captain, Mike Kennedy (John Travolta), orders his men to try and rescue him.  Jack’s story,
however, is rather typical: he quickly bonds with his fellow firefighters, quietly becomes a hero, meets, dates and
marries Linda, the girl of his dreams (Jacinda Barrett) and as their children grow up, they weather their share of
problems and tragedies (friends are tragically killed in the line of duty, Linda becomes terrified that Jack is next,
etc.).  

The contrast of Morrison’s standard off duty life (shown through scenes of domestic bliss and discord, drinking
nights at the local tavern and family barbeques) with the adrenalin of heroics and flaming infernos (and they are
terrifyingly dramatic and realistic) is part of the point but when we finally arrive back at where we’ve begun with
Jack the movie hasn’t seemed to delve very deep for answers.  As to be expected from a movie about a profession
with such macho heterosexual traditions, gays and lesbians are not part of the equation (though, surprisingly, the
movie does include a rather up to the moment joke about gay marriage).  Couldn’t there have been one firefighter
who secretly wanted a little bit of after work male bonding with one of his cohorts, thereby adding some dramatic
tension?

Ladder 49 has a workmanlike, cumulative power, shaded and authoritative performances by Phoenix and Travolta
and is certainly an earnest effort.  But perhaps after seeing television documentaries and reading about the heroics
of the firefighters involved in the 9/11 tragedy for the last three years has made the genuine supplant the
fictional.  The preview screening where I saw Ladder 49 was packed with real life firefighters and toward the end
of the film I thought, “Why are we watching a fictional movie about fictional firefighters when real heroes with real
stories are sitting all around us?”  I wanted someone to shut off the projector and have each one get up and relate
just one of their own stories.  I’m obviously not alone – the website for the movie (
www.ladder49.com) has a
section where, Oprah-like, people can post accounts of their own “Everyday Heroes.”  I guarantee you that some
of Our People are among these “Everyday Heroes,” too – whether their fellow firemen (or women) know about
their true sexuality or not.

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After the acclaim for her portrayal of the white trash real life serial killer Aileen Wurnos in
Monster, Charlize
Theron takes on the starring part in
Head in the Clouds.  As expected, the role of wealthy free spirit Gilda
Bessé quickly offers her the opportunity to return to glamorous movie star mode and hopefully solidify her bid for
stardom.  It’s an old fashioned star vehicle that Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth or Barbara Stanwyck would have
fought for.  This “sweeping epic” without much of the epic, is set in Paris in the late 30s and centers on the
romantic triangle of Gilda, her bookish but hot between the sheets lover Guy (played by Theron’s real life hottie,
Stuart Townsend) and Gilda’s crippled but beautiful nurse in training, Mia (tiny Penélope Cruz).  

Golden girl Gilda is ripe and sexy in and out of her shimmering gowns, refuses to be tied down or distracted by
anything serious, and seems to live by the Auntie Mame “life is a banquet” motto.  Even when world events darken
around her, we are led to believe, Gilda won’t stop dancing as fast as she can.  These party mad types usually wear
out their welcome for me but Theron holds the attention with authority, dances a very sexy tango with Cruz and
finally reverts to the no-makeup
Monster look in the final reel.  It’s sort of great to sit through such an old-
fashioned picture again and Theron has certainly made a better choice for herself in her follow-up Oscar movie
than either Halle Berry or Hilary Swank did.  And the ghosts of Joan, Rita, and certainly Garbo (
Mata Hari,
anyone?) are not bad spirits to echo.
Fictional Firefighters and Charlize Theron tries on a role Norma Shearer would have loved