ASPHALT CITY movie poster | ©2024 Roadside Attractions

Rating: R
Stars: Sean Penn, Tye Sheridan, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Raquel Nave, Kali Reis, Michael C. Pitt, Katherine Waterston, Mike Tyson
Writers: Ryan King and Ben Mac Brown
Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
Distributor: Roadside Attractions/Vertical Entertainment
Release Date: March 29, 2024

ASPHALT CITY opens with chaos, as paramedics arrive to deal with what turns out to be a shooting in the Manhattan subway system. Ollie Cross (Tye Sheridan) is new to the job. He is riding with paramedic veteran Gene Rutkovsky (Sean Penn). They are on the night shift.

Rutkovsky is tough but a good teacher, and can usually keep his cool in situations that are frightening, disgusting, exasperating, or some combination of all three.

In the course of following Cross on duty, we see every bodily fluid in existence, all sorts of injuries, people who are substance-addled, mentally disturbed, or just incredibly cruel and violent. Thank yous are almost as rare as clearcut solutions.

Cross learns a lot from Rutkovsky. At the same time, each man finds himself pushed to breaking from the misery they see and are powerless to do more than pause briefly, if that. Both of them have a hard time in their personal lives. And both find themselves on the brink of despair.

To a large extent, ASPHALT CITY is episodic, but the point being made by director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire and writers Ryan King and Ben Mac Brown is that these incidents have a cumulative effect on those sworn to deal with them. As viewers, we can’t help but empathize with Cross’s reactions.

Wisely, the filmmakers and actor Sheridan have opted to make Cross mostly reasonable and sympathetic. When he loses his temper, it seems almost inevitable. When he starts to lose himself, we flinch, but it’s hard to blame him.

In ASPHALT CITY, Cross develops a bond with Rutkovsky, but there isn’t an overriding sense of camaraderie across the department. Indeed, Cross’s other semi-regular partner, Lafontaine (Michael C. Pitt), is such a sociopath that we start wondering how it is that he’s still working, while Cross and Rutkovsky receive multiple suspensions.

Sheridan is quietly expressive. Penn conveys deep grief and rage, while at the same time maintaining Rutkovsky’s air of professionalism and smart-aleck outward demeanor. Pitt is excellent as the objectionable Lafontaine. Gbenga Akinnagbe doesn’t get much to do, but is convincing as the one member of the paramedic unit who appears to be holding it together. Mike Tyson (yes, that Mike Tyson) is fine as the unit’s chief.

ASPHALT CITY closes with an onscreen note that first responders are now committing suicide at higher rates than they are dying in the line of duty. While the film ends on a note of hope, by the time it finishes, we easily understand why.

The questions about ASPHALT CITY have nothing to do with its credibility. But we start to feel that we don’t know enough about Cross to fully get how what he’s going through is shaping him, or what if anything he’s losing as he transforms. It’s also a pretty brutal experience for viewers. This actually attests to the film’s impact, but it’s not for everyone.

Ultimately, ASPHALT CITY feels something like a ride-along. We see some pretty horrible things, and we believe them, but we don’t fully have the sense of completion that is usual at the close of a narrative piece.

People sensitive about harm to animals should note that, yes, one is killed (out of frame, but the body reappears), and while none are killed on screen, there is a long sequence in a slaughterhouse.

Related: Movie Review: IN THE LAND OF SAINTS & SINNERS
Related: Movie Review: LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL
Related: Movie Review: CABRINI
Related: Movie Review: SLEEPING DOGS
Related: Movie Review: GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
Related: Movie Review: THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGICAL NEGROS
Related: Movie Review: KUNG FU PANDA 4
Related: Movie Review: IMAGINARY
Related: Movie Review: NIGHT SHIFT
Related: Movie Review: T-BLOCKERS
Related: Movie Review: DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS
Related: Movie Review: CELLPHONE
Related: Movie Review: NO WAY UP
Related: Movie Review: LISA FRANKENSTEIN
Related: Movie Review: OUT OF DARKNESS
Related: Movie Review: ARGYLLE
Related: Movie Review: DEPARTING SENIORS
Related: Movie Review:MILLER’S GIRL
Related: Movie Review: CULT KILLER
Related: Movie Review: THANKSGIVING
Related: Movie Review: HELLHOUNDS
Related: Movie Review: SUNRISE
Related: Movie Review: MEAN GIRLS
Related: Movie Review: NIGHT SWIM
Related: Movie Review: MAESTRO

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: ASPHALT CITY

Related Posts: