JACOB'S LADDER (1990)
RATING:  ½
By Shawn McKenna
This story stars Tim Robbins in a dramaticly effective role as a former Vietnam veteren who is starting a downward spiral of paranoia and hallucinations. He suspects that he is being chased by demons. He has had a history of letting the aftermath of the war and his sons death affect him. He obtained a doctoral degree, but did not use it He divorced his wife and now works for the post office. (You notice a lot of nuts are either postal workers or taxi drivers.) However, this is the first time he has had hallucinations. He then suspects that the military has had a role in his visions. He seeks his fellow veterens and obtains a lawyer. They all back out later. Meanwhile, his doctor and friend both die in automobile explosions.
Jacob's Ladder does an effective job of portraying Jacob's hallucinations. His version of Hell is particularly frightning. The only noneffective part is the ending of the movie which negates a lot of the movie. There are a lot of unanswered questions. Yet a lot of the questions did not need to be answered because of the nature of this movie. I am glad the movie did end with a chase or a courtroom room. The believability of this movie depends on the uncompromising direction of Adrian Lyne. This movie is unpleasent, yet this movie is very good.
JACOB'S LADDER (1990)
Starring:
Jacob..........Tim Robbins
Jezzie.........Elizabeth Pena
Louis..........Danny Aiello
Michael........Matt Craven
Paul...........Pruit Taylor Vince
Geary..........Jason Alexander
Director: Adrian Lyne
Screenplay: Bruce Joel Rubin
Produced By: Alan Marshall
Running Time: 115m.
Rated: R
Genre: Suspense/Horror
Other Critics
Roger Eberts Rating
***½
Leonard Maltin's Rating
**½
Awards, Facts, and Oddities
Two Deleted Scenes have been added for cable and video making it 118 m.
Macaulay Culkin appears unbilled (a lot).
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