Scorsese again delivers with film of redemption

"Bringing Out the Dead"

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore

Rated: R

Martin Scorsese is one of the most important directors to make movies and, without a doubt, one of the best still working.

With his latest effort, "Bringing Out the Dead," the director turns back to the mean streets of New York with a harrowing story of a man coming unwound in the course of a very long, hot weekend.

The main character in "Bringing Out the Dead" is Frank Pierce (Nicolas Cage) who may remind some of another Scorsese character. Pierce has trouble sleeping and has a job that finds him cruising the streets of New York City in the wee hours of the morning. Whereas Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver" was driving a cab, Frank is a paramedic, driving an ambulance waiting for the next tragic call.

While many of Travis's demons were imagined, most of Frank's are real. He's haunted by the memories of all the people he's been unable to save