Jacob's Ladder (Widescreen)

The direction and editing are nearly flawless. And, across the board, the performances are electric. I have no idea what Rochell O'Gorman means by saying Tim Robbins' performance was "lethargic". His moments of fear, confusion, and sorrow are consistently convincing. And his few minutes of relief at the hands of his chiropractor (Danny Aiello in an unusually sweet turn, for him) also offer the viewer a break from the relentlessly frightening images. However, when those few moments pass, the horror that follows is made even more terrifying. At the very least, this movie deserves a viewing by everyone, horror movie fan or not.

This is, in my opinion, by far and away Adrian Lyne's best movie, which may surprise some people given the fact his CV includes big box office hits such as 9  Weeks, Indecent Proposal and Fatal Attraction. His direction is subtle, considered, well-paced and as near as you'll get to perfect. The cinematography is also excellent and the use of special effects are relatively understated but effective, which is something that can rarely be said since the advent of CGI. As for Bruce Joel Rubin's screenplay no praise is too high. It is intelligent, intricate and complex and it keeps you guessing until the end. In fact there is so much in this movie that second time around you'll find yourself picking up clues that you missed first time around and appreciate the cleverness and different levels of the story even more. Tim Robbins is excellent as Jacob, whom he succeeds in making a very sympathetic and vulnerable character, whose life literally becomes a nightmare. The supporting cast is excellent too with Elizabeth Pena (La Bamba, Rush Hour etc) and Danny Aiello (Leon, Do The Right Thing) in particular putting in notable performances. Jacob's Ladder also features supporting performances from Matt Craven (The Life of David Gale), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and Eriq La Salle (ER).

I first saw Jacob's Ladder at the cinema when it first opened back in 1990. I had read an article about it in a magazine, which was complete with disturbing still photographs from the movie. The article was intriguing in that it said that the screenplay, written by Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost) had been doing the rounds in Hollywood for several years but that although everybody agreed it was an excellent screenplay it had been considered unfilmable until Director Adrian Lyne got hold of it. On the day before seeing 'Jacobs Ladder', for the first time, a review in the now defunct British newspaper 'Today' described it as a five star classic and I still remember watching it in the cinema on its opening night, transfixed by the story and disturbed by the images, whilst jumping out of my seat a few times. I have loved this movie ever since and have loaned out my old VHS copy many times since then but what still surprises me is that so few people seem to know this movie or have seen this movie, which to me seems like a crime.

Perhaps Jacobs Ladder's lack of box office success can be put down to it often being classified as a horror movie, which is to do it an enormous disservice. Sure there are elements of Jacob's Ladder that can be compared to the horror genre but it is so much more than that. Complex, downbeat but also spiritually uplifting it was perhaps too intelligent and too disturbing to achieve a mass appeal. However, it still amazes me and saddens me that real dross such as Vanilla Sky has many people waxing lyrical when something as good, sorry excellent as this slips by relatively unnoticed. Jacob's Ladder I would suggest is a superior forerunner to movies such as Vanilla Sky and even The Sixth Sense and I highly recommend it!

No doubt that Adrian Lynne has provided the inspiration for several films and music videos with its dark and extremely horrifying images of the rising paranoid insanity that appear in hallucinatory flashbacks at first.

As the story progresses the line between what is real in a war veteran's nightmares and what is not becomes blurred, both for the protagonist himself as well as for the audience, and in such a way that you cannot escape questioning yourself during and after the movie. Questions that do not necessarily lend themselves to easy answers. But the movie offers its own interpretations (in a somewhat watered down ending) while still allowing for the audience to draw its own conclusions.

Everything is right in this movie. The direction, acting and dialogue are intriguing. The plot is intricate but unfolds logically at a decent pace. The photography is atmospheric and and the special effects are understated yet effective. The character of the protagonist is developed immaculately, his anguish is almost palpable.

Unless you're super-squeamish, this is a fascinating movie. Especially if you have a taste for the ilk of Donnie Darko, Lost Highway, or pretty much anything by David Lynch.