JACOB'S LADDER. Directed by Adrian Lyne; written by Bruce Joel Rubin; produced by Alan Marshall for Tri-Star. Starring Tim Robbins. Rated R.
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Jacob's Ladder is depressing, disorienting, scary and grotesque—yet strangely affecting. It is just too downright weird for a lot of moviegoers. But if you can go with it, you'll see what I mean by the high rating.
Robbins deserves a lot of the credit for the emotional punch that Jacob's Ladder packs. Viewers who've just seen him clowning around in Bull Durham or Cadillac Man will be amazed at his versatility. He's in every scene of Jacob's Ladder and he makes us feel all of Jacob's anguish, fear, grief and confusion—right from the beginning.
Jacob, Vietnam vet, divorced father and postman, seems to be going bonkers. Not only is he having some vivid, if perplexing, flashbacks to the war, but he's also having some terrifying realtime hallucinations. At least, they must be hallucinations, since he sees demons, of all things, trying to kill him.
His world is somewhat hellish anyway, though. The New York City location shots here certainly won't win any Chamber of Commerce awards. And he misses his family, especially his youngest son, killed in an accident.
Reality, though, is mighty slippery in Jacob's Ladder, and the explanation he eventually gets, convincing as it sounds, isn't completely satisfying.
"Frustrating," in fact, could easily be added to the list of adjectives describing this movie. It's hard to make sense of, at least until the end, and maybe not even then. I wasn't surprised to learn that Jacob's Ladder's producer a few years ago also brought us Angel Heart, another scary, metaphysical thriller which was difficult to figure out, but also very well-made.
It's refreshing, though, occasionally to see a movie that doesn't give you all the answers. Jacob's Ladder is one of those that will keep you thinking, long after the final credits.
November 14, 1990